Letters to the Editor
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each cat is different
Great story, some great posts. Each cat is different, will respond to each suggested approach differently. That is why people like Mieshelle Nagelschneider can be helpful. If one of her approaches doesn't work, I am sure there is another approach she can suggest, based on her experience. Those of us who have had a series of cats can only suggest what worked for us in our situation, while a behaviorist has access to the life stories of many animals.
I am only familiar with the life stories of 5 cats, and each was different (although the two siblings were similar in temperment). Two of those cats were fine as a solo act, and only tolerated other cats for the sake of being close to their human. Two others (siblings) were equally interested in the other cat and their human. The final cat was not interested in his human, just in joining the existing pack (2) of cats. This is all taking place with the same human and in overlapping living situations, so I can only conclude it is due to each cat being different.
I just wanted to add that Soft Paws has worked wonders for my one destructive cat - while they stayed on he learned that he didn't have to destroy to get a good stretch in, and once they fell off he hasn't returned full force to his carpet and blind destroying habits.