Herd your cats here

[AvidReader]

Cute and funny. Maybe a display of dominance? Is there an alpha cat?

Interesting query! I don't know. Artemis is 4 months older (22 months to Hestia's 18) and a bit chunkier; they have play-fought in the past and we have often gotten the sense that Artemis was holding back, though this has recently lessened as Hestia has matured (and found other sparring partners two houses down the street). Artemis, who rarely initiates conflict, gets noticeably jealous. She wants to be special (don't we all?). Spouse is a big fan of making sure that things are very equal (Artemis had two treats, so Hestia must, also), but Artemis is much happier when her treats or cuddles or indoor time occur independently of Hestia's; she will behave for hours on her own, but will act out quickly if she senses that Hestia is getting equal rewards for less preferred behaviour (sadly, Hestia's M.O, where Artemis is much more a rule-follower).

In this instance, Hestia initially didn't seem to mind being sat upon, but after a few minutes she wriggled out, jumped down to the floor, and had a bath.

Also, Hestia is largely an equal-opportunity cat, and will sit on whichever human is available, while Artemis goes through stages of preferring one of us to the other. Currently it is mostly my month, which is another reason this was a surprise.

AR.

[apl68]

This morning I saw a cat cross the street going toward a house.  A moment later I heard some terrible caterwauling and saw two cats come dashing away from the house, screeching and carrying on as only cats can do.  They ran under the carport of a house across the street and disappeared into a covered corner.  A few moments later one of them came sauntering out.  The other remained under cover.  A fight?  Or an assignation?  With cats it can be hard to tell the difference.

[mythbuster]

Oh dear. I believe we have a full on pet turf war happening at our house.
     We have a 60 pound dog and in December of 2020 got 2 pandemic kittens. They initially lived in the guest bedroom as we slowly introduced them to the dog. After several months of increasing interactions through a pet gate etc., it appeared that everyone was living in harmony with free run of the house. One of the cats is brash and friendly and like to wrestle with the dog. The other is a more traditional, cautious cat but the dog generally leaves him be, and his favorite spot is the top of the cat tree, out of reach from the dog.
   All seemed well until I resumed in person on campus instruction 2 weeks ago. The dog is clearly not happy about being left home alone during the day, without her previous ability to go in and out of the yard as she pleases. The dog protests this by breaking into the guest bedroom, where the litter boxes are. Yes a 60 pound dog can wiggle though the mini cat door on a full size pet gate! She may be snacking from the box as well, but that's a lesser problem right now.
   This has now caused our more cautious cat to initiate a urine based turf war. So far he has hit both of the dog's pet beds AND the guest bed mattress. And it's not just a spray, it's the entire full bladder worth. My guess is that that one was in response to the dog hanging out on the guest bed in protest of my being gone for the day.
   We used to have the dog contained to the Master bedroom during the day (pre-pandemic, pre-cats) one idea is to return to that. MY fear is that if this cat wants "ownership" of our room, he will pee on our bed!  So I'm going to buy some Feliway diffusers and ponder how to give Mr. Cautious his space in harmony with everyone else. If anyone has ideas, I'll gladly try them out.

[Puget]

Oh dear. I believe we have a full on pet turf war happening at our house.
     We have a 60 pound dog and in December of 2020 got 2 pandemic kittens. They initially lived in the guest bedroom as we slowly introduced them to the dog. After several months of increasing interactions through a pet gate etc., it appeared that everyone was living in harmony with free run of the house. One of the cats is brash and friendly and like to wrestle with the dog. The other is a more traditional, cautious cat but the dog generally leaves him be, and his favorite spot is the top of the cat tree, out of reach from the dog.
   All seemed well until I resumed in person on campus instruction 2 weeks ago. The dog is clearly not happy about being left home alone during the day, without her previous ability to go in and out of the yard as she pleases. The dog protests this by breaking into the guest bedroom, where the litter boxes are. Yes a 60 pound dog can wiggle though the mini cat door on a full size pet gate! She may be snacking from the box as well, but that's a lesser problem right now.
   This has now caused our more cautious cat to initiate a urine based turf war. So far he has hit both of the dog's pet beds AND the guest bed mattress. And it's not just a spray, it's the entire full bladder worth. My guess is that that one was in response to the dog hanging out on the guest bed in protest of my being gone for the day.
   We used to have the dog contained to the Master bedroom during the day (pre-pandemic, pre-cats) one idea is to return to that. MY fear is that if this cat wants "ownership" of our room, he will pee on our bed!  So I'm going to buy some Feliway diffusers and ponder how to give Mr. Cautious his space in harmony with everyone else. If anyone has ideas, I'll gladly try them out.

Sounds stressful for everyone involved! There are cat doors that work with a chip on their collar to only open for the designated cat(s), so if you can put one of those in the guest room door that might be a solution.

In the meantime, is doggy daycare at all an option for you? Sounds like your pup would be happier with people and outdoor play during the day.

[the_geneticist]

Oh dear. I believe we have a full on pet turf war happening at our house.
     We have a 60 pound dog and in December of 2020 got 2 pandemic kittens. They initially lived in the guest bedroom as we slowly introduced them to the dog. After several months of increasing interactions through a pet gate etc., it appeared that everyone was living in harmony with free run of the house. One of the cats is brash and friendly and like to wrestle with the dog. The other is a more traditional, cautious cat but the dog generally leaves him be, and his favorite spot is the top of the cat tree, out of reach from the dog.
   All seemed well until I resumed in person on campus instruction 2 weeks ago. The dog is clearly not happy about being left home alone during the day, without her previous ability to go in and out of the yard as she pleases. The dog protests this by breaking into the guest bedroom, where the litter boxes are. Yes a 60 pound dog can wiggle though the mini cat door on a full size pet gate! She may be snacking from the box as well, but that's a lesser problem right now.
   This has now caused our more cautious cat to initiate a urine based turf war. So far he has hit both of the dog's pet beds AND the guest bed mattress. And it's not just a spray, it's the entire full bladder worth. My guess is that that one was in response to the dog hanging out on the guest bed in protest of my being gone for the day.
   We used to have the dog contained to the Master bedroom during the day (pre-pandemic, pre-cats) one idea is to return to that. MY fear is that if this cat wants "ownership" of our room, he will pee on our bed!  So I'm going to buy some Feliway diffusers and ponder how to give Mr. Cautious his space in harmony with everyone else. If anyone has ideas, I'll gladly try them out.

Is kennel or crate training an option for the dog?  Or the ability to build an outdoor dog run?
You could also consider confining all of the critters.  Cats get the guest bedroom; dog gets another area.
Cautious cat needs to feel safe to use the litter box without dog interference.
Nature's Miracle cleaner or Oxyclean both work wonders for cat pee removal.  You really need the enzyme cleaning action or else the smell does not go away.

[mythbuster]

We own proverbial stock in Nature's Miracle from our last pets! Thanks for the suggestions. The true solution to this of course if for me to go back to only working from home so I can cater to all the pets whims! But that can't happen.
Unfortunately, our dog does not like most other dogs, so daycare is not a good solution. An outside run is a possibility though. We will ponder this.
I actually don't think the issue is the litter box so much as just "get out of my room!". Of course that is whatever room Cautious Cat  (CC) is in at the moment. Sigh. He really is cute otherwise.
The other thing I think contributed to this is that we travelled over the break and the Cats had a week at home without the dog. CC may have discovered how nice it is without the dog around!

[FishProf]

Can you place something in front of the door (like a box or a crate) that allows the cats access to the cat flap but prevents the dog from getting there (or makes the angle unworkable)?

[clean]

Will we have posts from the White House now that a First Kitty has moved in? 
Will Commander (White House Puppy) get along with White House Tabby?

Im sure that the internet demands to know!

[apl68]

It was warm enough this morning that the cats were out around town.

[smallcleanrat]

I crumpled a piece of packing paper into a ball and tossed it to the kitties.

Maestro got to it first and began merrily using his front paws to bat it all over the apartment. Caramelo gave chase and stole the ball away from Maestro, prompting Maestro to chomp on the ball, initiating a tug-of-war. Caramelo yanked the ball away, triumphant, but was immediately flattened by a full body tackle from Maestro. Maestro regained possession and ran, Caramelo in hot pursuit.

I crumpled a second piece of paper to make another ball.

I tossed the second ball to the kitties saying, "There. Now there's one for each of you. No need to steal from your brother."

Both kitties immediately lost interest.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I crumpled a piece of packing paper into a ball and tossed it to the kitties.

Maestro got to it first and began merrily using his front paws to bat it all over the apartment. Caramelo gave chase and stole the ball away from Maestro, prompting Maestro to chomp on the ball, initiating a tug-of-war. Caramelo yanked the ball away, triumphant, but was immediately flattened by a full body tackle from Maestro. Maestro regained possession and ran, Caramelo in hot pursuit.

I crumpled a second piece of paper to make another ball.

I tossed the second ball to the kitties saying, "There. Now there's one for each of you. No need to steal from your brother."

Both kitties immediately lost interest.

Yup. Typical cat behavior. Of course they'll lose interest when things are fair. :)

[the_geneticist]

I crumpled a piece of packing paper into a ball and tossed it to the kitties.

Maestro got to it first and began merrily using his front paws to bat it all over the apartment. Caramelo gave chase and stole the ball away from Maestro, prompting Maestro to chomp on the ball, initiating a tug-of-war. Caramelo yanked the ball away, triumphant, but was immediately flattened by a full body tackle from Maestro. Maestro regained possession and ran, Caramelo in hot pursuit.

I crumpled a second piece of paper to make another ball.

I tossed the second ball to the kitties saying, "There. Now there's one for each of you. No need to steal from your brother."

Both kitties immediately lost interest.

Yup. Typical cat behavior. Of course they'll lose interest when things are fair. :)

"But, I want the one that is Wanted."

I had lots of fun in the cat shelter watching a litter of 6 kittens romp around and fight over exactly ONE of 3 identical yellow jingle ball toys. 

[mamselle]

I crumpled a piece of packing paper into a ball and tossed it to the kitties.

Maestro got to it first and began merrily using his front paws to bat it all over the apartment. Caramelo gave chase and stole the ball away from Maestro, prompting Maestro to chomp on the ball, initiating a tug-of-war. Caramelo yanked the ball away, triumphant, but was immediately flattened by a full body tackle from Maestro. Maestro regained possession and ran, Caramelo in hot pursuit.

I crumpled a second piece of paper to make another ball.

I tossed the second ball to the kitties saying, "There. Now there's one for each of you. No need to steal from your brother."

Both kitties immediately lost interest.

SomeKitty has had Woody Hayes for a coach in another life...

M.

[AvidReader]

Hestia has squidged herself into a shoebox beneath a sunny windowsill and fallen asleep. She is snoring softly.

AR.

[mahagonny]

Our female cat is coming home tomorrow. Been at the vet's since Monday. Getting 'zapped' for hyper (hypo?) thyroidism, I believe it is. Wife is more knowledgeable than I am. The male cat kept walking though the house the first couple of days looking for her. They say she's doing fine. It's supposed to be a permanent cure. Maybe no more pills.