Update: Cat Woes
Temporary solution was enacted/attempted last night. The cats were herded by Brian into the master bedroom. 5 minutes later, Shima sprayed the bedroom door in her anger/frustration/stress. Shiro, who already loves our bedroom, just curled up happily to sleep. The minute Ezri started her late night fussy cry, we could hear the cats fighting each other again in the bedroom (the nursery shares a wall with our master closet). * sigh *
Brian then herded them into the master bathroom (which is thankfully rather roomy), and is a lot more isolated from sounds and disturbances. They can't hear her crying in there unless I have the baby monitor turned on max (and I only have it on when she's asleep in the crib, so it's not an issue). We also turned on the heated floors, which they love. It will shoot up our utility bill to have it on 24/7, but it keeps them mellow.
Brian did some more research on resolving cat stresses. The usual solution is to remove the stressor from the environment, but as that is Ezri, that's not an option. So the next best step is isolating Shima from all sounds and scents of Ezri. We are going to record audio of Ezri crying and play it (on very low volumes) when we feed Shima her favorite wet food (we finally found a food item she considers a treat... only took us 7 years). Hopefully, she will become acclimated.
We are also going to schedule another vet visit. Last time our vet noticed how abnormally and easily stressed out Shima gets (she turns into a feral alley at her visits), and suggested kitty Prozac.
* fingers crossed *
Brian then herded them into the master bathroom (which is thankfully rather roomy), and is a lot more isolated from sounds and disturbances. They can't hear her crying in there unless I have the baby monitor turned on max (and I only have it on when she's asleep in the crib, so it's not an issue). We also turned on the heated floors, which they love. It will shoot up our utility bill to have it on 24/7, but it keeps them mellow.
Brian did some more research on resolving cat stresses. The usual solution is to remove the stressor from the environment, but as that is Ezri, that's not an option. So the next best step is isolating Shima from all sounds and scents of Ezri. We are going to record audio of Ezri crying and play it (on very low volumes) when we feed Shima her favorite wet food (we finally found a food item she considers a treat... only took us 7 years). Hopefully, she will become acclimated.
We are also going to schedule another vet visit. Last time our vet noticed how abnormally and easily stressed out Shima gets (she turns into a feral alley at her visits), and suggested kitty Prozac.
* fingers crossed *