November 4, 2008
The Great Cat Standoff of 2008
I’m hoping my fellow pet-lovers can offer some advice for a friend who is having problems getting her 2 new cats adjusted to living with each other.
My friend has had cats for most of her life. After she recently lost her old cat, she spent some time carefully picking out a new kitty to bring home and love. She purposely selected a cat that had been at the animal shelter a long time and wasn’t a prime candidate for adoption to just any home. She felt her quiet lifestyle would be the kind of home this scared and shy cat would respond well to.
After the first 2-3 months, the cat seemed to have adapted to its new home. It had become attached to its new owner, was exploring the house and appeared to be settling in nicely. It will never be a brave and outgoing cat but it was coming out of its shell.
My friend hoped a second cat would be a welcome addition to keep the first one company while she was at work. She searched the local animal shelter cats for quite a while until she found one that she felt would be the right match for the scared and shy kitty she already had at home. The second cat she adopted is around a year old, small and gentle, but also more outgoing than the first cat. She hoped it would not become too much of a threat to the cat already in the house.
A couple months have gone by but the two cats are not adapting to each other despite my friend’s attempts to slowly acclimate the two cats to each other. The first cat retreats to one room every time the newer cat is in the area. The newer cat has begun to hiss back at the first cat when confrontations arise. She has resorted to keeping them separated almost all of the time.
How have you dealt with the introduction of a new cat into a home that already has a cat? How do you handle the problem of the cats not adapting to each other? Will these two cats ever adjust to each other or will they always have to be separated? We’d like to hear from you.
October 20, 2008
Dog agility woes
Tucker going over a jump at a local dog agility fun match.
Everyone who meets me quickly figures out I’m an animal lover. They may notice the stray dog or horse hairs that seem to always be on my clothes no matter how hard I try to get them all off before going out in public. Or maybe they’re standing near me when I open the trunk of my car, which is filled with dog, horse and bird paraphernalia and will never have room for a bag of groceries.
My attachment to animals began with my first kitten at age 4 and has never diminished.
Lots of pets have come and gone in my life since that first kitten. Currently I have 2 dogs (a collie and a keeshond), 1 cat (an orange & white long-haired domestic) and 2 horses (a paint gelding and an appaloosa mare). I’d probably have more pets but my only pre-nuptial agreement with my husband was a limit on how many pets we would have at one time. Good thing he’s around to keep me in check!
Over the last couple of years I’ve become hooked on dog agility. You’ve probably seen agility on TV when you’re flipping channels and go past the Animal Channel. Dogs are racing around a course full of obstacles, weaving in and out of poles, jumping and climbing and running through tunnels. It’s as much fun for the handler as it is for the dog, and is challenging for both. The picture attached to this blog is of my keeshond Tucker during one of his agility practice sessions.
Tucker loves agility – during practice. But recently we took the plunge and entered an agility trial. I admit I entertained the fantasy of getting points toward an agility title. After all, Tucker can do all of the obstacles perfectly during practice. But we quickly discovered we were definitely not ready for prime-time. The dog raced around, ignored obstacles, ran laps around the course and totally ignored me most of the time. He once even crashed into and knocked over the netting that served as a barrier for one side of the arena. Needless to say, we never qualified on any of the courses we entered during the trial. But we did provide the entertainment portion of the show!
Are any of you participating in dog sports with your favorite canine? What tips do you have for getting the dog to focus on you when it’s taken into a situation full of new dogs, strange smells, human tension in the air? What can I work on at home to teach the little guy to focus on me in new places?
I look forward to your comments and advice. I know Tucker and I can compete successfully someday, if I can find a way to get him to settle down and run the course. Until then, we’ll just keep practicing.
