Testimonial 47 - Rami

I sought Mary’s help after taking in a stray adolescent cat. Rami was extremely affectionate with people, but he was behaving aggressively toward our two older cats, Kali and Feyla. At the time, I didn’t realize Rami’s behavior was aggressive – I thought he was just an overly-playful (if annoying) kitten. But eventually he attacked Feyla, and I was badly bitten while breaking them apart. Afterwards, Feyla was traumatized and began to isolate herself. She refused to eat or use the litterbox unless she was in a room by herself, and she became less affectionate. I was heartbroken, but also afraid to re-home Rami due to his aggression. We tried several calming products and made an effort to re-introduce the cats slowly, but nothing changed.

I reached out to Mary as a last-ditch effort. During our consult, I learned more about feline behavior than I could have imagined, despite hours and hours of Googling the issue. Mary demonstrated how to train not just Rami, but all three of our cats. She also recommended ways to make our home a more enriching place for them, which resulted in our obese cat, Kali, losing over 20% of her bodyweight! Kali is much healthier as a result, which has already saved us money.

Working with the cats was frustrating at times, but Mary checked in regularly, answered all of my questions, and modified the plan when needed. I was able to train Rami to ignore Feyla, which was a huge success, and I gradually saw the dynamic between Kali and Rami improve. It took longer to see changes with Feyla, our oldest cat, but she became less fearful over time and started venturing out of our bedroom on her own – something that seemed almost impossible a few months ago.

It’s still a work in progress, but all three cats are at the point where they coexist relatively peacefully. They’re willing to eat together and share space on our couch or bed (as seen in the picture of Feyla and Rami above). Although Feyla and Rami will never be friends and sometimes hiss or growl at each other in passing; there haven’t been any fights. Feyla is finally returning to her normal self, and Rami turned out to be an absolutely wonderful pet – I’m thrilled we’ve been able to keep him. To some extent, he and Kali have even become companions.

I highly recommend Mary’s services. Training cats can be a long and confusing process, it’s been worth it to have a happier and more peaceful home.

Laura S. from Rockville, MD