Charis moved from a house up in the mountain surrounded by dogs with an open area to run around in to a two-bedrooom condo with two cats. Did she have a hard time adjusting – at the beginning. When I first brought her home she did not want to eat and only ate when she was starving. She was just lying down in one spot and did not associate with the cats too much. She did not want to come near me because she missed her playmates.
Her stress extended beyond the home. She did not like walking on a leash as she was used to running around free. She did not want to go through doorways or go down stairs – as both were unfamiliar to her. She would pee every time she encountered another dog. She would even bark and try to run away from her reflection. She would scurry away from people, especially men.She would freak and jump around trying to escape her leash every time she heard a car, truck or motorcycle. She was terrified of her new world. The only time she showed her true self was when she saw kids. She would get really excited and want to play with them. She would stand outside the grills around the pool and just watch the kids play. I think she wanted to be part of their world. To be , she had to adjust to her new world. One big problem, she was not food, toy or play motivated. She would do things simply because she had to or wanted to, not for any incentive. This was going to be a tough adjustment period for her.
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Sumo and Bimbim have developed four and a half years old of quirks that I give in to as long as we can live in harmony. If it strikes her fancy Bimbim will insist on drinking from the faucet - cool, fresh water is one of her priorities in life. Sumo hits the door knob when he wants to say hi to our neighbours - dogs and people. After four and a half years, their lives were about to be disrupted by a dog.
Charis joined our family on August of 2011. At first I was worried about Bimbim because she was always the one who had a hard time adjusting to changes, but when Charis came through the door both cats checked her out and everything was surprisingly peaceful. They had their nose to nose greetings then just left each other alone. I had a bit of a close call, though, when I tried to feed Charis, Bimbim went straight to the dish and tried to eat Charis' food, but thankfully Charis did not do anything. After a while Charis became more comfortable and started exploring our home. Sumo kept watching her and would swat her even without provocation. Charis, on the other hand, thought it was a game and kept trying to play with Sumo which irritated him even more. I thought about keeping them apart but I realized that for them to live together they had to learn how to handle each other. So I just monitored them and the only time I stepped in was when one was being abusive. Otherwise I just made sure that the cats' nails were trimmed and that Charis did not get too excited around them. Now, four months later, the cats and dogs live in harmony. The only time the cats get upset is when the dogs are so excited they invite the cats to play. Do the cats still swat the dogs? Do the cats still threaten the dogs with hisses and growls? Yes to both - when they deserve it. Do I worry that one will harm the other? Not at all. They may not be best of friends, but they are now family.
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AuthorJoy has had 17-20 dogs, four cats, at least a dozen rabbits, three to four chickens and one turkey in her lifetime. She was close to her brother's bear cat and the snake, who she rescued from the attic. While in Canada she decided to get a cat and ended up with two. Since she lived alone she had to find ways and means to develop a harmonious peaceful relationship with her cats by "training" them. Eventually she decided to get formal training and invited dogs to join her family. Archives
May 2012
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