"Get these mutts away from me!""

[lizblackdog]

Cat polishing: I made Cassie a Catster page.

Opened the bedroom door and the dogs and I trooped in. Spike was tight as a coiled spring, the tips of his ears vibrating with cat-love, and Squish kept wanting to yap in happy excitement, but they lay on the bed with me and behaved. Cassie hissed when we came in the room, and sat on the windowsill making her indescribable growly/grumbly/whiny/complaint noise at the dogs. I've never heard a noise remotely like that come out of any feline. I'll have to get her to do it near the computer for you before she gets too used to the dogs and gives it up.

We lay there for a while, the dogs being good, although Spike's bright-eyed fixed stare never left her, and I talked in random soothing sentences, making a point of using her name, stroked her, stroked the dogs and yawned a lot. Cassiopeia fell silent and I saw her silhouette behind the curtains relax and her ears come forward, though she showed no sign of leaving the windowsill.

Stayed like that for a while and then trooped out with the dogs. Will leave her in peace for the night.

Comments

[lizblackdog.livejournal.com]

she's been pretty good about not actually attacking them so far. I think she's just making it very very clear she won't take any crap from them.

she did claw me quite a bit when she first saw them, but I can hardly blame her for that. poor darling.

I am wondering what to do next? Should I keep the door shut and take the dogs to visit every few hours or should I just open the door and let them work it out for themselves?

At the moment she seems very disinclined to be anywhere but the bedroom windowsill.

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

I've had good luck with making nighttime kitty time (keeping the door to the bedroom shut so the cat can move around unmolested). Is that an option for you?

[lizblackdog.livejournal.com]

Oh, shutting yourself and dogs IN? That'd be doable, except I don't generally sleep there. I sleep on my futon in the living room and only use the bedroom for sex... this is because I like to fall asleep listening to audiobooks and the 'puter's the only thing I can play them on.

but I could shut me and dogs in the living room/kitchen and let Cassie mooch round the bedroom/hallway/bathroom/utility room, I guess.

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

Yup. I've been doing that for years now - though it's suspended currently since Alex is here and the dogs wander back and forth between beds.