Hi Rive
Dont get too hung up on who is or isnt doing the thinking. The important thing is to learn to become functional.
A while back now we had a bit of an episode where we almost broke. We knew that there was shadow and elspeth because Grace would experience Elspeth as an halucination and both Grace and Peter were being persicuted by shadow. I hadn't met either of them. Then one night Elspeth opened her door a crack and all hell broke loose. Shadow was the one to save us and bring peter, grace and i to the conscious front again. Neither grace nor peter have seen the others since.
I on the other hand know exactly where they are. They are parasiting off me. Shadow is not a problem she just needs to feel safe so she has literally become my shadow, stitched on like peter pan's. Elspeth on the other hand comes and goes, when she is out co-con with me she takes possession of the right-hand side of our body and it feels like I am having a stroke. The thing is is when that happens it gets difficult to separate my thoughts from hers. Elspeth believes the best way to protect us is for us all to become unconscious again. I now know she is behind our catatonic episodes.
But here is the thing. Neither shadow nor elspeth have a persona as such. Peter is distinct he has a whole personality, set of beliefs, way of looking at the world, likes, dislikes, memories, opinions. He even has different body language and voice. No-one meeting peter could ever be in doubt that it was anything but peter. Grace and I are like chalk and cheese we have been confused for twins because while we look identical (same body duh) we have radically different personalities. (The number of times an acquaintance has said "I know your sister you look like two peas."......)
Shadow is a fragment she doesn't have any personality she never developed fully. She has a body image (us at 2 years old) and she can put on any number of voices, appearances etc but that is just her pulling out some memory and dressing in it like a kid with a dressing up box.
Elspeth has a body and is solid, she is very strong, and she emanates fear but she doesn't have a personality. What she has is a fear of developing a personality, she stops us from making choices or expressing personal opinions because as a child she was beaten for it, there is a great sense of loss with her. She knows she used to like things and dislike things but she cant remember what those things are because the memory has been beaten out of her. She is constantly looking for our mother because mother would tell her what she was allowed to like or dislike, because mother isn't here anymore elspeth's default is not to express an opinion on anything.
What this means is that while grace, peter and I can argue about what we want and don't want and be fairly certain who is demanding what, when I am fronting and think of something and then feel something about what I thought it is hard for me to know weather that feeling is self doubt, shadow needing reassurance or Elspeth desperately trying to make us invisible again. The remedy in this case is quite simple because at the end of the day it doesn't mater who the feeling comes from the answer to that feeling is the same. "I see what you are feeling however if you look at XYZ you will find that what I thought is reasonable/logical/safe/acceptable." If there is a reply then I answer that reply accordingly.
In focusing on who said what and trying to find a core your T is wasting time, what you should be doing is focusing on how to function despite the conflicts. Take the cats paw. Next time you feel the urge to trap it address the feeling. Say (in your own words of course) " I hear your desire but I cant let you do that to the cat, let the cat go and we can find something else to exercise your feelings." Then make sure you do go and offer something destructive as a replacement (say smash a plate??), that way you have prevented "bad" behavior, asserted your needs AND listened to and tried to address the needs of whoever it was that wanted to hurt the cat.
I hold a lot of rage for our system, because of our situation at home I have to do a LOT of diplomatic tongue biting. If I couldn't go out and smash rocks in the back garden once in a while I would bite peoples heads off. Telling certain people what I think would be more satisfying but while I am out smashing rocks I can imagine it is certain peoples faces, I let off steam and the whole system benefits.
Perhaps the cat squasher is another alter - if so let them vent safely.
Perhaps the cat squasher is you and you are in conflict with what you want to do and what you want to do because you know it is what you should do - if that is the case then learning to vent your impulses safely can only help.
Whether it is you or an alter behind the impulse the course of action is the same - let the cat alone and go smash a plate instead.
Mo