Post by teemu on Aug 22, 2023 16:53:54 GMT
I've posted about it sometimes in the past, but it again seems like Suti's absolutely out of control hormones are causing some real issues between her and Limppu. She has sometimes been better, but now she's been really problematic for a good while.
They're basically fighting every day now. It's not serious physical conflict yet, but there hasn't really been a day when someone doesn't scream her head off to the other - usually both, usually multiple times a day. Hard shoving, grabbing and nosing-off have all become everyday stuff.
I think the main issue is that Suti seems to basically be in heat, or at least hormonally overactive, for most of the month. It's sometimes been better, but now it'd become really harsh. Combined with the fact that Limppu decided to grow up and actually dtart acting like normal (i.e. she will actually take real issue with her stepsister just grabbing her and shouting), and it sometimes feels really volatile.
The issues are plentiful. The main situations are Suti just picking fights, Suti getting really jealous and ornery over something random, both wanting to be exactly in the same spot at the same time, and Suti basically just having heat episodes. There's also this weird thing where I can't give them treats if both are in the cage, since Suti will just sit there complaining about how Limppu is going to try to steal her treat (instead of just eating it...) and then just flipping out if Limppu approaches at all. It's not a mouth issue, she eats just fine, she just seems so bent out of shape over this kind of jealousmess that it captures her whole attention.
All in all, their relationship seems to be getting much more volatile, and I'm afraid of when the last straw hits...
There's also the fact that there literally aren't enough hours in a day to get Suti to work through her excess energy. We got them a bigger cage over the summer, hoping it would give her more opportunities to manage. It worked for some weeks and now it's been like this again for over a month. She's cobstantly demanding to be let out, even if she just was out for a long time. In the evenings she often just screams through the bars if anyone gets close because she's so angry at having to stay in the cage. She also destroys toys so quickly that we just actually can't replace them for her fast enough...
I've been putting the idea of spaying off because it is a very intrusive and traumatic procedure. However, it's clear that she's very unhappy and that the situation is becoming untenable. Today they almost came to blows over seeds (of which there were plenty for both), and I actually had to push them away from each other and take the treats away to stop them from going off at each other.
I'm really not pleased with the idea, but I don't really know if anything else could fix it. Suti is just actually, for real in heat much of the time and that's really starting to break things down. Still, the operation, and especially the recovery, are really daunting to me. How the heck will I be able to keep her restrained and not wreck herself afterwards...
They're basically fighting every day now. It's not serious physical conflict yet, but there hasn't really been a day when someone doesn't scream her head off to the other - usually both, usually multiple times a day. Hard shoving, grabbing and nosing-off have all become everyday stuff.
I think the main issue is that Suti seems to basically be in heat, or at least hormonally overactive, for most of the month. It's sometimes been better, but now it'd become really harsh. Combined with the fact that Limppu decided to grow up and actually dtart acting like normal (i.e. she will actually take real issue with her stepsister just grabbing her and shouting), and it sometimes feels really volatile.
The issues are plentiful. The main situations are Suti just picking fights, Suti getting really jealous and ornery over something random, both wanting to be exactly in the same spot at the same time, and Suti basically just having heat episodes. There's also this weird thing where I can't give them treats if both are in the cage, since Suti will just sit there complaining about how Limppu is going to try to steal her treat (instead of just eating it...) and then just flipping out if Limppu approaches at all. It's not a mouth issue, she eats just fine, she just seems so bent out of shape over this kind of jealousmess that it captures her whole attention.
All in all, their relationship seems to be getting much more volatile, and I'm afraid of when the last straw hits...
There's also the fact that there literally aren't enough hours in a day to get Suti to work through her excess energy. We got them a bigger cage over the summer, hoping it would give her more opportunities to manage. It worked for some weeks and now it's been like this again for over a month. She's cobstantly demanding to be let out, even if she just was out for a long time. In the evenings she often just screams through the bars if anyone gets close because she's so angry at having to stay in the cage. She also destroys toys so quickly that we just actually can't replace them for her fast enough...
I've been putting the idea of spaying off because it is a very intrusive and traumatic procedure. However, it's clear that she's very unhappy and that the situation is becoming untenable. Today they almost came to blows over seeds (of which there were plenty for both), and I actually had to push them away from each other and take the treats away to stop them from going off at each other.
I'm really not pleased with the idea, but I don't really know if anything else could fix it. Suti is just actually, for real in heat much of the time and that's really starting to break things down. Still, the operation, and especially the recovery, are really daunting to me. How the heck will I be able to keep her restrained and not wreck herself afterwards...