I had to take Twirl to the vet today. Oliver lit into her and tore open her ear. She now has 6 brand new stitches in her ear. I asked a Cat Psych what she thought was going on with my group treating Twirl so aggressively? Her answer made a lot of sense. With Twirl’s ear flaps gone, she looks aggressive all the time and the other cats respond with aggression. For Oliver to be the attacker, he is my most mellow cat (besides Prowler) really made me think.

If I don’t keep the stress level down here, there is going to be a lot of territorial marking going on. Another factor, is keeping Twirl’s stress level down, and her being attacked repeatedly is not how to do that. I am going to keep Twirl isolated upstairs from here on in. I know it has to be the missing ear flaps issue because the crew has already accepted the latest arrivals, the two kittens, Tyler, Rayne and Sullivan. Even the last cat Buzzby wasn’t met with so much aggression. If Twirl’s stress level rises this could cause the cancer to come back.

I went upstairs and talked to her and told her that I was sorry for the isolation but that I feel this is the best way for her to be here. The only other option would be to try and find a good home for her, but most people want kittens, not older cats, even those with special needs.

This is the time when the enclosure doesn’t even factor in. Unless we can screen off a portion of it and let Twirl live among the other cats without being able to threaten them.