Thursday, October 6, 2011

It's getting better all the time

Dare I say it? After 4-5 days of touch and go, hissing/spitting/chasing, and RK living in fear, things are calming down. We used the squirt bottle and I wielded a damp towel at Newman once, so there should be no doubt in Newman's mind where we stand on bullying.
FINALLY, there seems to be begrudging acceptance. A cat dancer was our inspired strategy (when in doubt, buy a cat toy). It may have helped them find something in common, or maybe it was the passage of time, or maybe the chase just wasn't as fun. Occasionally Newman will start showing stalking behavior, but now RK is more used to it. He no longer slinks around the house hugging the wall with eyes the size of dinner plates.  Chases, when they occur, are short-lived and without hissing/yowling. They're sniffing each other and walking away on occasion. I am encouraged.


6 comments:

  1. MartineOctober 6, 2011 at 3:05 PM

    Glad they are settling down. We've an ongoing battle with a recently adopted dog and our two cats, but we're getting there too :)

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  2. Emily M.October 6, 2011 at 4:48 PM

    It's hilarious that you have so many pictures of them right next to each other even though they don't like each other.

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  3. DaisyOctober 6, 2011 at 6:15 PM

    So glad things are getting better. The Cat Dancer is one of my favorite toys! Even after 3 years, Harley sometimes will not leave me alone (he can be relentless). When he gets out of hand, he goes into Time Out in a separate room by himself for about 5 minutes. When he comes out he is usually more well-behaved.

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  4. PhunnieOneOctober 7, 2011 at 10:27 AM

    lol We use a water gun so we can get distance on the cat and on the dogs. Very effective tool.

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  5. SparkleOctober 7, 2011 at 8:31 PM

    Toy therapy is always a good approach. So is treat therapy - when the two of them are behaving nicely, or at least tolerating each other especially well, give them treats to encourage the behavior and make them think that, "Hey, good things happen when the other one is around!"

    (Heh-heh, one more human trained to do our bidding! No wonder we cats have ALREADY achieved World Domination.)

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  6. AllieOctober 8, 2011 at 1:15 AM

    Yay! Glad to hear it.

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