What do you do when one cat is bullying another relentlessly’ We tried everything we knew to stop Arlo from picking on suite-mate Lucky (pictured below, right), but nothing worked. (In Arlo’s defense, we believe that this continues to be misplaced aggression; we’re pretty certain Bailey and Nuttin are bothering Arlo, and in his frustration he’s turning to a cat who’s lower on the totem pole.) But the situation between Arlo and Lucky had become serious; Lucky had even lost a small chunk of an ear to him. And she was plainly terrified. We felt that there were no other options left to us but to medicate Arlo, so we are administering prozac to calm down his aggression. He’s also been separated from the other cats in the FIV+ suite, spending some time in a cage in the room and some time in one of our adoption rooms.

Arlo seems largely unaffected by the medication, at least as far as his behavior toward people goes. He’s still the same purring, head-butting lovebug. But the difference in Lucky has been amazing. Before this, for fear of Arlo, she spent all of her time up at the top of the ramp or even hiding in the tube. She’s still shy, but, with Arlo as a physical threat removed, we’ve seen her sleeping in a cat bed on the floor or in one of the cubbyholes. Lucky’s even been noted eating and drinking during daylight hours.

Once we’ve adjusted Arlo’s medication to what we feel is a proper level, we’ll slowly begin to try to re-integrate him into the suite.

Quite by accident, I’ve discovered that I’m not the only volunteer who has a weakness for our tabby-orange-and-white guy. One of our regular Tuesday morning volunteers and I were talking about some of the cats at Tabby’s Place, and she mentioned Arlo’s name, adding that the two of them ’have their little talks’ sometimes. And a weekend volunteer regularly spends as much time as she can with Arlo. It’s easy to see why when you’re in his company; he loves human attention and will head-butt you vigorously, lick your chin, and even climb onto your lap before settling down for a nap.

Given Arlo’s affectionate behavior toward people, we continue to hope he’ll be adopted. Meantime, sponsorship like yours helps us care for him. Thank you. May your holidays be bright and your New Year happy!