Helping Nyx the Cat Who Howls Before Dawn

Dear Greyce,

Nyx enjoys rest

 
I am a handsome adult black cat and have spent my life as a mostly-outdoor cat. When my purrsons moved, they left me behind and I stayed in the neighbourhood as a stray. The neighbours left food for me but it was a battle to get it because I had to invade the territory of their primarily-outdoor male, Shamus, who is orange and grumpy and thinks everything belongs to him. He always goes after me and I have battle wounds to prove it.

My very new, new home is an apartment on the top floor of a two-storey building next door to Shamus.  It has a bedroom and main area; and there is a back porch to lie out in the sun during the day. I now live with Herself and Himself and their six-month old female calico kitten called Luna. I still have my manhood but Herself says I cannot stay this way. Why I cannot is a mystery to me.

My folks rise around 10:00 a.m. because they work late hours. Bedtime is between 11:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. I am okay during the day and at bedtime. When they are in bed, I curl up at their feet. Once the lights are out and things get very quiet, I get nervous and start to cry. But if they ignore me, I settle down. The problem beings in the pre-dawn hours. 

At 4 a.m. I begin my opera lessons. I prepare Themselves for a concert by pacing up and down the bed, then by Herself's side of the bed, then going to the door and the hallway. I get in their faces. And I let forth my golden tones to the tune of a lament.

I will not stop until they do something. They would give me pets and calm reassurance but the minute they stopped I started to sing again. So they put me out of the bedroom and closed the door! Well Greyce, I attempt to entice them by singing at the door, starting with soft cries and building up to something truly spectacular. But since they ignore me, I settle down in about 30 minutes.

Because of their lack of music appreciation, I am banned from the bedroom until the morning.

Themselves would prefurr that 'morning' be considered as 10:00 a.m. when they usually wake. I'll admit that they did try to let me in earlier, but then Himself tried to snuggle with me and give me pets and I would cry when he stopped.  He must have realized he was poor at customer services because he started to feel guilty and blamed himself - of course, as he should. The massage and snuggle service left something to be desired, if you ask me. Then Herself got worried, thinking my behaviour relates to a fear of being abandoned again.

Bully Cat Jack: Suzi' Series 4

Dear Greyce, You know I don’t like Jack. He beats me up and I am afraid of him. I would like him to leave. But I would like him to be placed in a good home. So I need to tell you more about his problems.

I think you might have the impression that Rijko and Jack are littermates or that they came to our home together. They are NOT littermates. Rijko came to our home first (and stayed in the guest room) and Jack joined about a month later (and stayed in the bathroom). Jack was so scared that he did not leave his cat carrier for two months! Then Herself decided he needed to join the rest of us or he would never be socialized. But unfortunately, that just added to my troubles with another bully on the loose.

Even though he has coordination difficulties because of cerebellar hypoplasia, he can climb to the sofa, the chairs and the bed. He cannot climb to the top of the kitchen cupboards (which is one of the reasons I feel safe there).

I think that Jack believes he is playing games but his games are very rough. He just rushes at his target and then he and his play buddy become a furious ball. For example, sometimes Rijko and he stand one against the other, stare and make male sounds, and their tails start to swish back and forth; next thing you know they have formed a ball and are rolling around on the floor together.

When no one plays with Jack, he roams the room making horrible sounds as if he is calling someone. Does this mean he is musical?

Herself assures me that Jack will be leaving but she has a dilemma. Since he attacks/plays rough with Rijko, should they be adopted out together? Or should Jack go by himself? Rijko is friendly and gets along with everyone. Jack is not well-accepted by cats but if he is adopted as an only-cat, will he be lonely?

And by the way, Jack loves to play with anything that is small and can roll.