I've heard that a high-pitched "meep" or other appropriate kittenish sound when you're aggressed against can discourage a cat from hurting you. It's probably worth a try.
I spent a fair amount of time telling Ra what a big tough cat he is (not a word of it true), and he did eventually start standing up to Gillian. When he did, I backed him up, moderately. Now, I'd say she's still dominant (though she was never as aggressive as Princess), but not enough to restrict Ra's life significantly.
On the other hand, it didn't solve any of the litterbox problems with him. Maybe I should put more time telling him that he's a nice civilized cat with good manners.
Also, (though I'm not quite as careful about this now), when a new cat comes in, I make sure that everyone within sight gets petted, so as to discourage jeaslousy.
So far as unscientific methods go, try visualizing how you want your cats to behave. I don't know whether it's telepathy, or just that visualizing makes your body language and tone of voice more communicative.
in very short doses, when my cats would attach my feet under bedclothes, I would meep or shriek briefly, emitting "you scareded me!!" emotions. The offending attack cat would mirror this emotion and back off, looking scared.
Seems to be similar with anger, if I yell at them, they stand up to me, angry right back.
You make a good point about the mirroring, but to tell the truth it's hard for me not to get angry at Princess. So much of her behavior is an attempt to keep my attention exclusively on her, and even if Sugar weren't in the picture, I find that kind of behavior tough to take even from humans.
I usually said "ouch!" when Sugar would accidentally bite or claw me, and that worked well enough. On the other hand, I think part of the reason Princess bites and grabs (my leg or arm) is either to stop me from doing what I'm doing or to get my attention so that I'll play with her. She stops quickly once I hiss; but it doesn't stop her from doing it again the next time.
I am presently trying to boost Sugar's esteem by taking her side. I didn't want to have to do that, but I see no other options and it's helping a bit; at least she comes out during the day when I'm not here to spend time with Eric. When I'm home, Princess is usually following me around, so Sugar is less likely to try to come to me, unless I'm in the basement.
As for the telepathy idea, I've been trying to do that, but I'll try to be more consistent about it and see if that helps.
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I spent a fair amount of time telling Ra what a big tough cat he is (not a word of it true), and he did eventually start standing up to Gillian. When he did, I backed him up, moderately. Now, I'd say she's still dominant (though she was never as aggressive as Princess), but not enough to restrict Ra's life significantly.
On the other hand, it didn't solve any of the litterbox problems with him. Maybe I should put more time telling him that he's a nice civilized cat with good manners.
Also, (though I'm not quite as careful about this now), when a new cat comes in, I make sure that everyone within sight gets petted, so as to discourage jeaslousy.
So far as unscientific methods go, try visualizing how you want your cats to behave. I don't know whether it's telepathy, or just that visualizing makes your body language and tone of voice more communicative.
That has worked for me!
Seems to be similar with anger, if I yell at them, they stand up to me, angry right back.
Re: That has worked for me!
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I am presently trying to boost Sugar's esteem by taking her side. I didn't want to have to do that, but I see no other options and it's helping a bit; at least she comes out during the day when I'm not here to spend time with Eric. When I'm home, Princess is usually following me around, so Sugar is less likely to try to come to me, unless I'm in the basement.
As for the telepathy idea, I've been trying to do that, but I'll try to be more consistent about it and see if that helps.