Bribery

FISH! My kitties love fish. They like fish flavoured food, actual fish and fish flavoured treats. I have been feeding INKY (and Spike and CC, consequently) fishy treats all day long since I discovered this new bribery thing. Whenever I see INKY get near CC, I give him treats (as long as he remains calm and cool). He's already around 18 lbs!!! So...I decided to start breaking the treats into smaller pieces so I don't have a bunch of Chunky Monkey's on my hands! But it seems like I could spend all day just stuffing their faces to keep them from fighting.
Last night I grew tired of the treating and let INKY get closer to CC and even let him get whiny and growly. Then...I squirted him with water (remember, never let your cat CATCH you doing this!!!!). I had to squirt him a few times to get him to stop the insanity then I just ignored him. I had to do this again today. Same scenario: CC on the spiral kitty staircase and INKY on the TV next to the structure making noises.
Last night I took INKY into the guest bedroom and tried to play with him. Most good feline behaviorists will tell you to play with your cats daily. It is important to complete the prey cycle (I'll have to write about THAT another time). But, I've been having trouble doing that with my cats lately. At least he played a little and we got to spend some quality time together without the other buggers (until they started scratching at the door). Anyone have insight about my cats not playing properly? I know they are distracted and paranoid about the other cats ruining their game (which tends to happen when the other cats miss mommy and start scratching at the door and crying. OK...maybe it's not me...maybe they just NEED to know what is going on on the other side of the door!)
For now, I continue to use the bribery technique for counter conditioning as often as I can STAND it! God only knows what happens between them when I am not here!