The cat is learning *not* to run! (With pics) :)

[Meadow]

Othello (cat) was going out of his way, waking up the dog time and again this morning, just to be annoying, lol. He would meow his "leave me alone!" meow, while Faith was sound asleep on the floor. Faith would pop up, and sniff him, and Othello would act all ticked off - - but I truly believe Othello was BORED and wanted to bug the heck out of Faith, hahahaha.

After a while, I heard them both in the kitchen. Othello was just laying there, and Faith was soooooooo happy and excited - but she was CALM with him, since HE wasn't running. If the cat doesn't run, there's nothing to chase!


Faith was trying SO hard to make Othello run. She wanted to PLAY with him. She would get down... get up.... do the 'play pose'... get down... get up.


Othello had a look on his face that said, "You can buzz RIGHT off!" hahaha


Finally, Faith gave up, and just plopped down on the floor, and layed as close to him as he would allow:


I think, as time goes on, these two are going to be good buddies. I never thought it was possible for the first several months after we got Faith.

~Maureen

[cheslyn1]

That looks and sounds like a normal dog-cat relationship to me! It is so funny how cats will never admit to wanting company LOL.

Tammy

[Mom2Maddie]

Those pictures are so cute, she looks like she's bursting with excitement at being so close to Othello. Glad to hear that they are slowly becoming good buddies.

[Meadow]

My hope is that once Faith can be totally calm around Othello, that my poor other very frightened kitty can stop living in the basement. I hope there will be nice transfer to "all cats", once Othello has Faith nicely trained, lol.

~M~

[Claudette Kinkade]

The pictures are great, I, too, think they are becoming friends. I sure hope the basement kitty learns to live upstairs again real soon. I think as Faith calms down she will be coming up stairs. I remember when Jake was really young, under a year, we visited my son and his family and they had two cats. The one cat would come out to check on Jake and the other was no where to be seen and they were sisters. The cat would lie in the frontroom just far enough away from Jake. He just layed in the kitchen looking at her. I, too, thought he would chase her because he chases bunnies and squirrels in our yard. But he just layed there nice and quiet and at that time in this life he was a real pistol full of energy. You can almost read looking at the pictures what Faith is thinking. She is a real sweetheart, really pretty.

[Nano]

Maureen, this post brightened my day! I just love the frame by frame photos of Othello and Faith. As another dog owner with cats I can really relate to these moments of progress. I think Othello's cat curiousity has gotten the better of him. He's decided he just has to figure out this big yellow creature. As for Faith, bravo for not chasing the cat! She looks like she's still getting a little close for comfort in a couple of those pictures. But Othello's lying down so that's a very relaxed body language.

Keep those pics coming! I'm sure you'll see progress with the other cat soon.

[Meadow]

Claudette, I hope that you and I are right about my poor Brooke (basement cat), one day, being able to be part of her family again. Actually, I feel sad about Brooke, but it's not all that bad - the kids are down the basement a lot, as that's where the game room is, and my son's computer. But with the kids in school now, I'm noticing how lonely Brooke must be. ANYWAY, since I'm seeing definite progress with Othello and Faith, I have to believe as Faith matures, it will transfer to 'all felines'.

Nancy, I bet you DO see the same sort of mixed-up canine/feline communication in your house, haha. Sometimes, we try to physically hold Faith's tail, so that she won't be wagging it, to help Othello to understand that Faith is not annoyed, since Othello 'wags' his tail when he's annoyed. Funny how different their language is, eh?!

We'll have an interesting experience in the next month or so too. My beloved neice from Alberta goes to school at the University of Toronto, very close to me, so when she's in Ontario, we bring her here for the weekends she can get away from school. Well, this summer, my neice got herself a part Siamese kitten!! When my neice comes here now, she will be bringing "Bree". Kittens have a special glory to them, and I am sure Bree won't have any fears of dogs - having been a barn cat raised with dogs - so there might be an interesting dynamic. Bree, unlike my gentle cats, will likley also use her sharp little claws, so Faith will see that cats aren't to be messed with, hahahaha. Time will tell if having Bree here now and then will make this better or worse for dog-cat training.

~Maureen