The new cat: Day 6
Annie Oakley is still confined to the spare bedroom in my house, but she is becoming increasingly curious about what's beyond that door.
So starting last night and this morning, I've allowed her to venture out a bit, with a baby gate positioned half-way down the hallway so she can't get into the rest of the house and into open-range dog space just yet.
The dogs have been respectful but they are quite mesmerized by the sights and sounds of a cat in the house. Annie the cat shows little or no fear, although she is still cautious -- she steps toward them to look, then she calmy returns to her room. No hissing, no barking, no raised hair. I talk to the dogs during the protected encounters, telling them she's a "baby" and lives here with us now, so they need to be very gentle and easy with her.
Slowly, we are making good progress, I think.
Here she is venturing forth into the hall ...
And here she is in a (semi- and protected) close encounter with Cowboy, the baby gate between them.
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About the Bloggers
Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.
E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.
Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.
E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.
For the first time last night, I allowed Tess to come with me into the spare room where the cat lives for now. Annie was cautious, but relatively relaxed. Tess was respectful, I think she's a bit afraid of cats. It's all about desensitizing them to each other right now, getting them all used to seeing and being around one another. We should be ready for more (supervised) nose-to-nose meetings later this week.
aaawww she is so pretty! Congratulations! Have they met without barriers yet?