Thank you for sharing this! Not a lot of people are willing to share when something goes wrong, but doing so in such a constructive manner is so educational!
Hi Jessi! I can relate to what you went through, I have 4 wonderful cats, and they all love each other, in their own unique ways. They are all fixed, we have two girls (bonded sisters, Tabitha and Samantha) and two boys (unrelated to the girls, bonded brothers, Salem and Aramis) and the strangest thing happened when we got all 4 together, Salem and Tabitha bonded with each other extremely fast. Tabitha became possessive of Salem and wouldn't let Aramis play with him, and so Aramis would try to play with Samantha (who was the runt of her litter and much smaller than the other 3 cats) and that scared Sam who would hide and not eat and have accidents all over the house. Like with Kismet and Chili Pepper, we kept Samantha apart from Aramis and her well being greatly improved. Then we felt kind of sad because while Tabitha and Salem had each other, Aramis only got attention from his brother when Tabitha was otherwise occupied, usually visiting Samantha. We kept trying to reintroduce them (we've had the girls for 4.5 years and the boys for just over 4) and it was not going well. Then last summer Samantha got startled in the middle of the night and ended up falling out a screen door in our bedroom and wound up outside for 2 months (our cats are indoor cats so this was new for her). Sam was gone for 2 months exactly, and came back the night after the first rain (we had a very dry summer). We rushed her to the vet, she was underweight, had some parasites and was a little rough looking, so we treated the parasites, made sure she was fed and hydrated and kept a close eye in case there was any damage that we hadn't caught. Strangely the most noticable difference was, after the parasites were gone and she'd put on her healthy weight again, she had also gained confidence! Our formerly timid little cat was suddenly bold, it was as if her time away had given her the confidence she needed to assert her place in our household. We weren't sure how the other cats would react, Tabitha who had always been the dominant cat in the house, did not seem to like this at first, but over time she adjusted, and Salem didn't seem to notice at all, but what surprised us was how Aramis reacted. Instead of playing with her roughly, he would groom her or cuddle her, and she in turn would do the same to him. Now she follows him around, and it's not unusual to find them curled up together for a cozy nap. The two months Samantha was missing were really worrying for my fiance and I, and we don't intend to let the cats go outside (Sam actually avoids the doors or open windows now so I don't think she really enjoyed it all that much anyway and the others never showed an interest either), but the time away seemed to have given her some much needed confidence. Tabitha has also become less possessive over Salem. The two are the best of friends, but like you suggested with Kismet and Chili Pepper, sometimes the grooming or attention seeking goes too far and they irritate each other. My fiance and I keep an eye on things, though usually when this occurs the cats are good about separating themselves from each other and cooling off and they've never done harm to each other thankfully (and fingers crossed, they never will). I like how you always refer to the animals in your care as unique individuals, because that's how I feel about my cats, and it's interesting to see how their personalities evolve over time, and how that impacts their interactions with us and each other. Keep up the great work! Can't wait for next week's video!
I've been through this too! When we adopted our cat, Scarlett, in 2015, she originally came with her daughter. The rescue hadn't been sure they would get along (Apparently mother cats can sometimes get annoyed by their teenage kittens hanging around) but as we had already been cat owners, and the two cats had been interacting well together, they both came home with us. Everything was going great, they slept together and groomed each other, Scarlett is a definite people cat and loves attention, and Lilly her daughter was more shy but very sweet and we loved them to bits. One afternoon, the two cats were out in our garden with us when they met our next door neighbour's cats and racedback into the house, Scarlett chasing Lilly to the point of cornering and trying to attack her. They were separated, and we all hoped that once the shock and fear of meeting the other cats had died down, they would go back to their grooming and cuddly selves. Sadly this was not so; Scarlett went for Lilly again when we tried to reintroduce them and Lilly had become so scared she didn't dare move around the house even when Scarlett was separated. Unable to manage the two environments the cats needed, we had to make the heartbreaking decision to return Lilly to the rescue so she could find a new home (which she did very soon after). It was one of the hardest decisions we have ever made as a family, as we felt we had failed in some way, but knowing that both of the cats are now happy and safe is the most important thing. Thanks for making this video, it can be so hard to admit things won't work out when they seem so idyllic before, and I hope Chilli Pepper recovers soon. Keep up the great work and videos!
Glad you've been able to address the situation. Later on, it might not be ill advised to allow them time together but only under direct supervision. Maras are simply so delicate.
I have no experience with porcupines or cavies but am afraid that would not work. The step from grooming to biting would be a very small one so you would probably be too late to intervene? Also if you try to steer their interaction this might have a negative influence? Of course Jessie is very good at reading her animals... Certainly a difficult decision to make and each case is different. With dogs, if you give them the signal you don't want them to interact too closely with another dog, they are much more likely to become aggressive towards that dog. In such a case you would either have to trust the dogs to figure it out for themselves or avoid the situation all together, at least that's my theory.
We trade spaces with our two cats every night. They take turns sleeping in the bedroom with us. We give them wet food at transition time to make things go smoothly. It's not what I ultimately would like, but we recognized that cohabitation for these animals wasn't in the cards. We do what we can to make sure things are as equitable as possible. It was reassuring to see this story, so thank you.
I had to separate my bonded birds who were about a year old. They were an unusual pair, being a Quaker parrot and a lovebird. One day, we noticed the Quaker was bleeding on the back of his neck and missing a chunk of feathers, we figure that they may have got aggressive with each other while grooming, since due to the size difference the Quaker can b a bit to rough and pushy. They still hang out on each others cage, and are clearly still attached to each other, but when we let them spend time together, we notice that they become a bit to rough while grooming and the little lovebird will try to climb on the Quaker's back. It's really to bad though because of how bonded they were, since they weren't hand tame with their previous owner so they spent all their time together. Any suggestions for what to do because the lovebird still hates being touched but I think she misses having a friend.
I had an issue with my conure beating up one of my budgies while I was on vacation. I don't know what happened since I wasn't there and they do have seperate cages. Although my conure has been know to get out of his cage and into theirs. What I do is let them out and socialize while i'm in the room with them. As soon as i leave to go anywhere they get seperated and the cages get locked.They hate being seperated but it's for the best. Not sure if that's what you are doing now or if you are keeping them seperate all the time i just find that this works for me.
I had a similar situation with my zebra finches. When we cleaned the cage one day, we noticed feathers missing on the back of his neck. The two were a male and female, siblings. So we set up a new cage with the entrance open, and waited for hours until one brave bird would move out! It was sad for me to see them separated, but more important that his health was no longer at risk.
Time-sharing the larger space is a great idea. Big Cat Rescue does that too; adequate space per-cat, plus a biiiig area that each of the cats take turns getting time in.
I appreciate that you did a video on this. I know too many people who just say "oh well" to their pets not getting along rather than supporting them. That is the human's responsibility. I am so glad that you shared this, and showed how important it is to support the animals that have no control over where they live, but that we do.
I'm so glad you had a way to keep them both happy and healthy separately now that the situation changed. And I'm so glad you shared this, because it is good to remember that things like cohabitation can change from being helpful to hurtful between two animals and the importance of adapting your care based on that knowledge. I know too many people who kept animals who didn't get along together because they were too proud to admit it didn't work out and they didn't think to have space to keep them separate.
I've noticed that RU-vid now allows channels to start memberships. Is this something you've considered? I wouldn't pay to join most channels, but this one I 100% would! Especially if it nets me a cute Animal Wonders emoji behind my name!
This was so helpful i just started a small shelter and i took in two chinchillas from a man who didn't care about them at all so i got the two poor babies and my first attempt was to introduce them to my small herd of guinea pigs i did the same thing bilt a little climbing wall different feeding stations all that but Soon i realized they didn't get along so i separated them and they are much happier. P. S i was also able to take in 2 ferret's i love them 😊 edit i also take in other animals too like reptiles, amphibians hope i spelt that right as well
I really like what you said about animals not always being consistent. I had to come to terms with that with my cat. She's always been a bit nervous and quirky but one day she got scared and became aggressive. She ended up scratching me and had to be quarantined for 10 days. It was hard to deal with the new reality that she needs more care than she used to and I have to be mindful of her "triggers" both for her safety and mine. You never know when the animals in your life might go through a dramatic change and need more from you as a caregiver.
I am an avid watcher of animal wonders and i love every video! As a high school student i am constantly thinking about what i want to do in collage and for a job. I’d love to work at an animal sanctuary or something similar to animal wonders. I was wondering what kind of major or credits to pursue to be able to work with animals in this way? Your videos are Amazing!
Awww poor little buds. It sucks that they can't be together anymore but I'm glad they are both okay! You guys are so awesome and I hope Chilli Pepper gets well soon!!!❤❤❤❤❤
Chili Pepper is one of my most favorites and so is Kizmet. Good idea about a new enclose that has separate entry so they can take turns in the romp room. I'm glad you have help taking care of all these guys. They all present unique challenges and they get the best of care - I bet your days are packed to the max! Thanks for doing an awesome job and teaching people so much about animals!
When my dog was younger (he's a spaniel so he has virtually no prey drive unless it's a duck) he used to sit with my guinea pig and groom her (supervised of course) and they had a very sweet little friendship... for about a year.. One day my guinea pig got a little fed up (she was a grumpy girl) and bit him lightly on the nose. From then on the dog was TERRIFIED of the guinea pig and refused to even go near her enclosure! If they were ever in the same room he would get very anxious and start defensively barking and growling at her which freaked her out. After unsuccessfully trying to train the dog not to be scared I eventually had to rehome her to a guinea pig loving friend where she lived out her days in a troop of about 8 guinea pigs.
My first rodents that I ever had (before the gerbils), were two hamsters (not teddy-bear hamsters...the larger breed), one male and one female. I tried introducing them one day on neutral ground (neither one's cage), and it did not go well. They immediately started fighting, so I separated them, gaining my first bite in the process. They lived separately after that, but I have since learned that hamsters are more solitary anyway, so it wasn't as big a deal as it would be for some of the more social rodents.
Nice that you've found a cool way to help both animals! (My two cats have problems living together, occasionally. I have realized the older one doesn't "recognize" the younger one after she gets bathed - she gets pretty aggressive for a while, until her ''sister's" scent becomes familiar again.)
not a vet or anything, but perhaps the older one is having vision issues so she relies on her nose more than her vision so the new cat smell is also a NEW CAT smell.
Hey I have asked same question last time, that my parrot feathers not growing back what should I do (it is indian ringneck male 5 years old) he is picking feathers. Since last 2 years some feathers are not growing back from chest inside wing and on legs please please help.
Animal Lovers I'm sorry to hear this! If he plucks his feathers for long enough the follicles will sometimes become damaged and no longer be able to produce a new feather. If that's the case then there's nothing you can do to make them come back in. When a parrot type bird plucks their feathers out it means that something is off. Sometimes it's their diet, or their light cycle, or they are bored, or they're dealing with chronic stress. I can't give your boy a diagnosis, but I can recommend you get him seen by an avian vet so they can help you determine what your best options are.
AnimalWonders Montana thanks for reply , it is not possible for me to take him to vet, but I will figure it out, thanks again.(I have bought big cage and toys also that might help.)
Thank you for this video! I just adopted two new kittens that my older female cats do NOT like..your video inspired me to find ways to make both of them more comfortable with the new kittens. Maybe some cat perches so they can have some privacy up high :)
I've had to separate hamsters... long term best buds, sudden biting incident. I eventually gave them a split cage with a wire mesh divider, so they could keep each other company. The girls would race on each side of the wire, and they eventually nested together separated by mesh. After a failed attempt at reintroduction, they lived together apart the rest of their days.
Awwwwwww chilli pepper I feel soooo bad and I hope you feel better and I wish you well! Don't worry your not alone because a lot of other animals are going threw being hurt like my dog he scratched his I so bad that we had to take him to the vet and now he can't really open it!
I'm down to my last guinea pig from 4 she's old now but I thought about letting her go live with my sister's piggies so she could socialise but while I looked after them when my sister went to China her two would not stop bullying her so I have kept her as a solo pig, I have put cuddly toys in her cage and she comes out to play every day and gets lots of attention taught her some tricks, she seems to be very happy now she's got over loosing her friends. Visitors love her and when she goes for checkups at the vets (she has had cancer for a few years) she gets lots of attention there too huge personality for such a tiny animal I love her she's so much fun.
We had to separate my hamsters, they were female siblings from the same litter and after 8 months together one attacked the other and tried to bite her sisters leg off, they lived quite happily for another 2 years in their separate cages
I'm not confident enough with my animals to put different species together. and this is one of the few videos where i feel like im just agreeing because i already understand. but this is a very important video for people taking care of animals. whether its a cavy and a porcupine. a dog and a cat. or 2 animals from the same litter
Hi Jessie, can you do a video on how to tame an aggressive lizard? I have a savanna monitor and a green iguana and both of which hate human interaction. They are both still young so I want to try to tame them before they get big and can do some damage. Thanks!
Our family's got 3 cats and 2 dogs, and the two groups don't get along with each other. The cats were here first, and are all older (one's 16 and two are 11). They used to have free range of the house, both floors, but once we got the first dog, the cats decided it'd be better to remain upstairs. Their home base is my bedroom, since I'm the cat lady of the family. They sleep with me and spend most of their time there, and the dogs aren't allowed in. When it's feeding time, the cats are fed in the master bathroom, and there's a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs so the dogs don't try to interfere. For the most part, they do stay separate, even when the gate's open, so long as food's not involved. One dog will even sit at the top of the stairs and the two younger cats will sit in my bedroom doorway, maybe 2 feet away with nothing between them, and all will be fine. It's not that the dogs want to hurt the cats, it's that they're corgis and want to chase and play, and the cats are Not Okay with that and just want to sleep. It helps that the dogs tend to stay in the same area as Mom, like the kitchen or living room.
Will you ever have supervised play between Chili Pepper and Kismet, since you mentioned how excited they were to be reintroduced after the bite? I'm glad that Chili Pepper is slowly getting better!
I had an issue with this with my cat and our new dog. A couple of years ago, our old dog had to be put down (the day after _Christmas_ no less). We brought my cat in _long_ after we'd had the dog, but they got on relatively well due to the face the dog was old and the cat has never been too fussy with things like play. They cohabitated perfectly and were buddies until the dog had to be put down. We got a new dog a few months later and then everything kind of went downhill. The cat who had previously been used to having the whole house was absolutely terrified of going upstairs. The dog, Chloe, is a Lab/Collie mix and was maybe a yearish when we got her, so she was hyper and just wanted to play with Jake, the cat. She probably thought he was just some small dog. This might not sound like a horrible issue but it drove me crazy for like six months or something. Now I live in the basement and love my cat, but it was just _way_ too much for me to handle. Jake refused to come down from the boxes in the basement to the point I had to put a ceramic bowl for water and a plate of food up on the pool table we have. He would sleep on the top of the couch every night with me which was fine...until he started scratching on it. He just _constantly_ demanded my attention. Please don't get me wrong. I love my cat. But when he's always begging for attention and I'm trying to work on homework or just relax while writing a collaborative story with a friend online, it really becomes an issue. Eventually, I ended up buying a harness for him and forcing him upstairs on it to hold him in place for short periods of time to show him the dog was no threat. Thankfully it worked and they get along just fine. If she gets a little too nosy, he'll swat at her gently, but it's never with claws. The main thing is that they just get jealous when you're petting the other and come up to demand their equal share of attention ;p
I have two cats that dislike each other. The older Male sometimes goes after the younger female. She sticks close to me for protection. I’m not sure how to amend the situation since she gets grumpy and hissy when he is near now. Mostly she stays in my room and he stays in the living room.
We have been trying to get my friend's 2 bonded bunnies to accept a third that she adopted for almost 2 years. It's finally to the point that they can be on opposite sides of a fence without any other barriers between them. Its been tough going because the new bunny didn't grow up around other rabbits, so he's had to learn how to communicate with them, and they had to learn how to understand him. We're hoping to be able to let all three play together soon!
Georgia Mae I suggest watching videos made by Victoria Stilwell, experience and firm kindness for the long haul, if they're growling and the puppy is trying to placate them and learn what the older dogs are trying to teach then it will change in time. Also take all three on long walks together to encourage a bond to form. Repect their ages too, according to Dr Ian Dunbar, always feed/pay attention too etc the oldest first, then the middle then the pup, he found that even amongst littermates age order was significant in rescource access and attention etc. Good luck, and keep calm but firm with all three... don't let the tail(s) wag the dog, if you get what I mean 😉
First and i love the channel and i always always use ur advice thanks for all the great content but can we get more bird based content pls and keep it up
Thanks Jessi ..Glad to see you solved the problem..Kiszmit and Chili Pepper are awesome animals. I have to separate by two parakeets one male and one female off and on and I came home from Church last nite and My Female Parakeet killed male parakeet. And I have a very large parakeet cage that could hold six parakeets too. While I am sad...I am no going to get another parakeet as the female parakeet seems to do will living in the huge cage by herself. I also have a male cockatiel in a cage by himself and I take him out everyday (he is 21 yrs Old) and he is very spoiled (he is a rescue ).
Shanna Mae Slight In every case, except this one, we've intentionally only taken an animal in if we have space to house them separately. If they can cohabitate with another then great! Limited space is the biggest challenge we have and main reason we have to turn away many animals who need a home. I'm glad we where able to find a quick fix in this situation but it's a good reminder of why we need to avoid getting backed into a corner like this in the future.
You mentioned Kizmit has been separated and Chilli Pepper is hanging out with the Guinea pigs. You also previously mentioned that Kizmit is a social lady. Do you have plans to socialize her with anyone else?
Awwwe, geez, when housemates won't take the hint about personal space, it's time to find new arrangements! 😂 But seriously glad that Chilli Pepper will be fine and quills weren't involved.
We had two rabbits. Really tame and old fashioned animals compared to this channel, lol. Anyhow, despite being brothers and having been together without any issues for a year, one day one of them looked unwell. We took a closer look and it was all roughed up, missed a small nick out of its ear even. Now we've got them separated. I still don't understand why they suddenly started fighting and why they went straight at it when we tried to reintroduce them....
Do you think it's possible for a newly bought caique a cockatiel to live together and be friends? I'm asking because I want to get both in the future if it turns out I can't get a galah. I'm also wondering which parrot would be a good partner for it.
Aw, poor baby. :( Is Chili Pepper on a break from going to events while he's healing? I have a friend who used to have a large rottweiler, as well as a small chihuahua/jack russel mix dog. They got along really well, but because the rottweiler was so much bigger, he would sometimes get too boisterous while playing, and one day accidentally stepped on the smaller dog's face. He was hurt pretty bad, and ended up loosing an eye. Even though it killed my friend to do so, she ended up giving away the rottweiler to a friend, who already owned a big dog, so he was able to still have a friend.
I'm glad Chilli pepper is doing ok. Because the two are such good friends, are you planning on allowing them (for lack of a better word) short 'playdates' to socialize and stay friends even though they aren't living together anymore?
Have you been able to provide Kismet with some other company? After sharing quarters I'd imagine that she'd' find living alone to be unstimulating, to say the least.
We've had multiple animals and cats are intetesting. They define their personal space and their territory. between themselves and make sure that the non-felines also know.
That is why I only allow myself 1 pet at a time. Like now, just a hamster. I worry no matter how bonded any animals were, they might fight and I have no space to house them separately :(
