I think that your new resolve to let the pets sort things out is admirable, and a big, huge step in the right direction. If you can get your mom on board too, then you could both go off into another room to make coffee or fold laundry or occupy yourself in a similar way if a scuffle breaks out. (If there is a special show or movie on TV that you really want to see with no interruptions you might lock the cats out of the room while things are calm before the program begins so that no arguments occur between the pets while you are watching.) To the best of my memory none of my cats ever drew blood when smacking my puppies in the past. When I wrote in a previous post that they got their noses "shredded" regularly I was using imagery and exaggeration to make the point that these conflicts are normal and commonplace. One of my cats did claw the nose of a neighbor's German shepherd once who came up onto the front porch where my cat was sleeping and, judging from the yelps of the retreating dog, probably drew blood. Cats can distinguish between a strange dog who doesn't belong and a dog who is a member of the household, and the latter is treated with more tolerance and restraint even when the cat is meting out discipline to its doggie housemate. No dog or cat in my experience has ever had its eye clawed by a cat. All animals have a protective reflex to close their eye lids if an object approaches. The Siamese cat I had when I was a kid was quite a fighter and used to really get into it with strange cats in the neighborhood. I am talking actual real cat fights here, not a tussle between housemate kitties. He came home frequently with bite and claw wounds, some *near* his eyes, but his pretty blue eyes lasted him a lifetime unmarred. If one of your cats should inflict a wound on one of their housemates I'd recommend that you treat it with peroxide for a few days to prevent an infection, as you would with any puncture wound. But I really doubt that any of your pets will have skin broken on their noses, and having an eye clawed out is only slightly more likely than being hit with falling debris from a satellite. Unneutered dogs can be a bit more feisty, but since you plan on neutering Punkin this year anyways, it sounds like you have this covered. I've always fed my pets separately to avoid fights. I would keep on feeding your kitties separately from your dogs just as you are doing now. This is a good policy. Everyone deserves to be able to eat in peace. Food is a key thing that tends to provoke conflicts, and your pets are already in conflict over their own space and place in the household. Your pets need to sort out the issues of their place in the heirarchy, but there is no point in giving them something else to argue over. If prescribed medication helps you and your mom to overcome your anxieties then it is a good idea to take the medication according to the doctor's directions. If you have time amidst your school work to fit in a walk with your mom and the dogs everyday, I also think this would have immeasurable relaxing effects. Punkin might be aggravating the cat simply because he has excess energy to burn with no outlet for it. A tired dog is always a good dog. Anyways good luck with your college studies and try not to worry over the critters!

I used Flor tile rugs to solve for weird size and shape, as well as a cat the likes to tear up the rug and also throws up. If a tile is ruined you can replace it (buy a few extra). It’s not cheap. There are tons of styles and colors.

Sad. I hope it runs its course and goes away without hurting too many cats or dogs, or even birds for that matter. I know disease is just part of life, but I'm never happy to read about it. I do worry a bit about my dog who likes to drink from my pondless water feature, despite my discouragement and offers of fresh bowls of water. The neighborhood birds also like the water feature. To be honest I was really happy to see a variety of birds come into my yard since adding the water feature and felt like maybe I was helping the native species. (I also plant native flowering plants to hopefully help pollinators.) I also recently discovered two rat holes in my yard so I'll be setting some traps tonight. Almost makes me wish I had an outdoor cat to either catch them or deter them from using my yard. Personally I like cats in general but not for my own home. Jennifer's words resonate with me as I rarely try to interract with my friends' cats, but they always end up sitting on my lap. I am a sucker and will pet them a little when they do, but generally don't actively seek them out like I would a dog. In any case, I wish everyone's cats and dogs well and hope they stay safe.

I knew Tom Lehrer must have one, haha found it on my 3-disc set 'The Remains of Tom Lehrer' (I heard all of his music is now free to download from his website, what a gift!)