Portia is seriously pissed off...

[MedusaIsHavingaBadHairday]

Portia is my 14 yr old tortie. She hated Morph and would give him the odd slap in passing (despite being a 3rd of his size!) and I knew she wouldn't be delighted at the kittens, but thought she might slap them into shape a bit and be dominant.

But she seems scared of them :( She is refusing to come in at ALL at the mo. Popped in this evening when I carried her in for fresh chicken (she is still eating) but wanted to go straight back out even tho the kittens were shut upstairs. It's ok for now.. she has always preferred to be in the veg patch in the garden, but I'm worried about when it gets colder. I am not allowing the kittens in the conservatory so she has a free space there, and into DS1's room which is downstairs off the conservatory but she doesn't want to come in at all :( I feel very guilty.

Is there anything I can do to help her accept them? I can't kep them confined upstairs now (2 weeks in) as they scaled the barrier and are now free around the house. She has never been cuddly but still purrs at me in the garden, but I don't want her to be a garden cat in winter!

Poor old girl. I had this once - the two kits operated as a tag team.

I don't know the layout of your house but is there any way that you could arrange for her to be higher in the house than them? (Probably sounds daft but being higher up seems to help and she may feel that there's nowhere safe for her to go with them all over.)

When are they due to be neutered?

Seduction. One of those fluffy radiator beds, in a private space, just for portia. Or if she's a box loving cat, then a lovely box full of blanket and catnip, next to the radiator. With regular sardine snacks !

Rooting for you getting Portia back in.

DS1 brought her in last night when he rolled in (he's 21).. so she was in his room/conservatory all night which is better than ouside at least! She has eaten breakfast in the conservatory and gone out again, but at least she was in..sadly I think making her come in is the only way for now .

I'll try and make the conservatory her safe space . Due to the configuration of the house she can't come in any other way that allows her to avoid the kittens. She has never used the front door she can't come in and dash upstairs..and she has never bothered being upstairs anyway . The cat nip is a good idea.. we have two big pots of it in the garden (she's an addict ) so I'll bring one in and see if that helps her. If I can get her in the house there for a week or so then maybe she will venture in further.

I'd like her to face them and realise they are not that scary..just small and annoying! Funny thing is she is a bad ass little cat and scares off the neighbouring cats regularly!!

Cozie.. I'm not sure when they will be neutered. They are now 14 weeks, and I'd rather it sooner than later as Obie is going to be chock full of testorterone very soon I suspect. I'm taking them to the vet for chipping next week and will see how soon the vet will agree to do them. He did Morph for me at 5 months but as that was 12 years ago and the guidelines have moved forward, I'm hoping we can sort them both asap!

Yes, I suspect an appropriately timed neutering will be good.

I wasn't really joking about the notion of a tag team. At least with Morph, she knew that he was only one - if she could see him then that was that. With the Terrible Twosome, she can see one but still worry that another one will be around and possibly ready to pounce.

I'm afraid I don't know what to suggest at the moment although two weeks isn't that long in the way of these things I suppose. Are they to be outside-going cats?

Yes they will be once big enough, chipped and neutered! Our garden is totally enclosed which should hold them for a little while til they learn to scale the high fences, but I can't keep them as indoor cats as it feels wrong to me.

Obie is itching to get out and we are having to only use the back door using the conservatory as an air lock to stop him... he is fast!

They are indeed a tag team of naughtyness!

Hope portia takes refuge with your son again tonight! The more nights she sleeps in the house, the better, in terms of her 'forgetting' the feeling of being unsettled.