Well, I don’t really have anything new to report on the kitty/doggie integration. The cats still don’t seem to be giving the dog any leniency around here and the dog can’t understand the rules of this hissing and growling game the cats have but she sure would like to learn. There was an unintended visit by Ayla to the cats’ room last night when hubby got home from the airport. He was upstairs changing out of his suit and the dog came to check things out. Usually the bedroom door is closed but since hubby was up there and only intended to be a few minutes, he left the door open. Ayla doesn’t usually venture upstairs after us but after not seeing him for more than 36 hours, she just couldn’t stand to not know what he was doing. As soon as the dog walked in, the cats darted under the bed and were growling and hissing whenever the dog came within 4 feet of the bed. Mary even was bold enough to jump out and swat at the dog who actually did seem a bit shocked which was a first. We’re hoping that now that Ayla is a bit more mature and almost a year old now that perhaps she’s also becoming wiser. She mostly just ignored the growling and didn’t bark at all (very good progress) but instead perused the room to check out all the fun kitty stuff.
The most entertaining moment for us was when the dog decided to jump on the bed. Both cats were growling in unison then, even though they couldn’t see her. Just knowing she was hovering above them was apparently close enough. But thankfully when we went to bed later the cats didn’t seem completely traumatized. This morning they were even around for some petting so the ordeal must not have distressed them too much. Usually they wouldn’t have been seen again for days.
Aside from that, all has been pretty much routine. Ayla needs to go back to the vet this week to make sure that she doesn’t have any infection. We would probably be at the vet now if I wasn’t sitting here waiting for them to come pick up our trash container. So perhaps tomorrow will be the day.
Ayla has also decided that she is going to steal food from her bag of kibble which will be met with serious consequences. She’s skipping dinner tonight because she certainly probably ate more than her portion just now. I was doing laundry and she wanted to stay in that room so I took everything upstairs, came back downstairs and find her with her face in the bag. It’s not the first time but since she was laying so quietly and peacefully when I left the room I thought she might have forgotten about the food. Stupid me.
Oh, well lookie there. As I sit her typing, both of our cats have just come downstairs to explore. The dog is outside in the courtyard laying in the cold so I figured I’d open the door for the cats. They definitely are getting bolder and started the exploration much faster this time around. Hopefully that’s a good sign.
