I agree discussing it with a vet is the first thing you should do, but much of it sounds to me like dominence play. Especially if Smeagol seems to be inviting it. But vet first, for both of them, there could be something going on with Smeagol that Hubero senses and its making him act oddly.
Hubero suddenly becoming vocal is normal IMO. Thing never made a mew for the first four years of his life until recently and now every morning he meows loudly for his treats. Same thing with Tuna, she barely made a sound for three years now she's very vocal. It's like they suddenly realize they have a voice and decide to use it. Maybe some cats, like some kids, are just late talkers.
Clingyness, in my cats, comes and goes. Sometimes we'll go weeks where they just don't want to be touched, othertimes I can't sit on the sofa without one of them on my lap, or walk from one room to the next without being followed.
The interesting thing is Hubero only vocalized when he's scruffing Smeagol.
The main difference between this and the dominance play they (well, Hubero...) engaged in for so long is the way Hubero acts when I come to break it up. He has never in his life stopped doing something because I "said so". Early on, when he was being a real jerk about the dominance and constantly harassing Smeagol, I would occasionally scruff him, which only made him angry with me. Now, the couple of time's I've had it with him and done so, he's cowered.
I agree that a vet visit might be in order just to rule out any potential physical health issues. Any dramatic change in behavior warrants that, since cats can't tell us if they're feeling poorly
( ... )
They both have "their" spaces. And Hubero gets so much love and attention... He'll climb up on the bed between us when we read, or if we're watching a movie, and will often fall asleep between us at bed time. Smeagol is twitchy about attention, and will rarely climb up on my lap, and then only for a few minutes. He basically only wants attention if he wants wet food.
I thought of the change in smell. I weaned him gradually, but his smell might have changed. The timing is about right, I think.
Mostly, I think Smeagol's just not taking any more of Hubero's bullying crap. I know I got tired of it fast, which is part of the reason we got Smeagol, in the first place - to provide a companion.
Also, Hubero seems to have begun not covering his poop. This is something Smeagol has NEVER done. Either something is physically wrong with him, or he's marking his territory. Or Smeagol has had substantial visits to the box 3 times in 36 hours, which is highly unlikely.
A lot of attention might not necessarily be the right *kind* of attention for what Hubero wants, which is another of those frustrating things about them not being able to tell us what they need. Kaga has moments (...like this morning, gah...) where all he wants is a particular kind of cuddling from K and nothing I can do will suffice, or where he wants me to do something specific with him and won't settle down until he gets that specific thing. Sometimes experimenting with different ways of giving the attention will help identify what a cat is really after.
But yeah, everything else sounds a lot like power shifts and insecurity. It might well be that the only option is to let them figure it out for themselves; as long as they're not actively injuring each other, that might be for the best in the long run.
The only injury I've noticed is a very tiny nick on Smeagol's right ear. It compliments his other one nicely... The perils of having huge ears, I suppose. They aren't wrestling at all. The only physical interaction is Hubero obviously trying to start play, and getting little to no reaction from Smeagol.
Hubero is very forceful when he wants something, so usually we know what he wants pretty fast. He's not doing any of the ear sucking behavior, so he isn't as insecure has he's been in the past... I might need to play with him more. Engage him in some good games of "hide and chase". Though that can be tricky, as it often ends up with him attacking my ankles.
I may try one or the other. I'm also hoping giving them a little catnip daily might encourage more friendly behavior. Nobody is hissing or growling, at least...
I hesitated about suggesting the catnip thing, but yeah, I've used that to calm things down when nothing else worked. (Feliway didn't seem to make much difference in our house.) It's not perfect in our case (Kaga tends to get manic and more aggressive on it before crashing), but it does *eventually* lead to zoning out in corners and not harassing each other, and a reduced level of energy in the aftermath.
Smeagol is a FIEND for the nip. I keep the jar in the fridge, so he won't get to it. I think he might figure out what those thumbs are for, if I ever left in where he could get it.
And, yeah, one of the main reasons I don't give it to them much is that it can make Hubero insane and aggressive. I've noticed, though, that if he's wound up when I give it to him he calms down fast. They do tend to wrestle like kittens when they've had some nip, so maybe I can use it to encourage more interaction.
There's no real hostility. No hissing or growling. Just Smeagol being more healthy than he's probably ever been in his life, which might be making him feel secure enough to try and be top cat. He's long and lean and muscular, whereas Hubero is a stocky little bulldog of a Siamese. Classic slightly stubby Applehead...
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Hubero suddenly becoming vocal is normal IMO. Thing never made a mew for the first four years of his life until recently and now every morning he meows loudly for his treats. Same thing with Tuna, she barely made a sound for three years now she's very vocal. It's like they suddenly realize they have a voice and decide to use it.
Maybe some cats, like some kids, are just late talkers.
Clingyness, in my cats, comes and goes. Sometimes we'll go weeks where they just don't want to be touched, othertimes I can't sit on the sofa without one of them on my lap, or walk from one room to the next without being followed.
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The interesting thing is Hubero only vocalized when he's scruffing Smeagol.
The main difference between this and the dominance play they (well, Hubero...) engaged in for so long is the way Hubero acts when I come to break it up. He has never in his life stopped doing something because I "said so". Early on, when he was being a real jerk about the dominance and constantly harassing Smeagol, I would occasionally scruff him, which only made him angry with me. Now, the couple of time's I've had it with him and done so, he's cowered.
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They both have "their" spaces. And Hubero gets so much love and attention... He'll climb up on the bed between us when we read, or if we're watching a movie, and will often fall asleep between us at bed time. Smeagol is twitchy about attention, and will rarely climb up on my lap, and then only for a few minutes. He basically only wants attention if he wants wet food.
I thought of the change in smell. I weaned him gradually, but his smell might have changed. The timing is about right, I think.
Mostly, I think Smeagol's just not taking any more of Hubero's bullying crap. I know I got tired of it fast, which is part of the reason we got Smeagol, in the first place - to provide a companion.
Also, Hubero seems to have begun not covering his poop. This is something Smeagol has NEVER done. Either something is physically wrong with him, or he's marking his territory. Or Smeagol has had substantial visits to the box 3 times in 36 hours, which is highly unlikely.
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But yeah, everything else sounds a lot like power shifts and insecurity. It might well be that the only option is to let them figure it out for themselves; as long as they're not actively injuring each other, that might be for the best in the long run.
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The only injury I've noticed is a very tiny nick on Smeagol's right ear. It compliments his other one nicely... The perils of having huge ears, I suppose.
They aren't wrestling at all. The only physical interaction is Hubero obviously trying to start play, and getting little to no reaction from Smeagol.
Hubero is very forceful when he wants something, so usually we know what he wants pretty fast. He's not doing any of the ear sucking behavior, so he isn't as insecure has he's been in the past... I might need to play with him more. Engage him in some good games of "hide and chase". Though that can be tricky, as it often ends up with him attacking my ankles.
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I may try one or the other. I'm also hoping giving them a little catnip daily might encourage more friendly behavior. Nobody is hissing or growling, at least...
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Smeagol is a FIEND for the nip. I keep the jar in the fridge, so he won't get to it. I think he might figure out what those thumbs are for, if I ever left in where he could get it.
And, yeah, one of the main reasons I don't give it to them much is that it can make Hubero insane and aggressive. I've noticed, though, that if he's wound up when I give it to him he calms down fast. They do tend to wrestle like kittens when they've had some nip, so maybe I can use it to encourage more interaction.
There's no real hostility. No hissing or growling. Just Smeagol being more healthy than he's probably ever been in his life, which might be making him feel secure enough to try and be top cat. He's long and lean and muscular, whereas Hubero is a stocky little bulldog of a Siamese. Classic slightly stubby Applehead...
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