The saga of Boomer and Pip...

[cairistiona]

Pipsqueak is still largely staying outside on the deck, despite the heat (which she seems to... enjoy? She's so weird). She'll come in for a small bite to eat and then go right back out, and though you'd think she'd lose some weight because she's not eating as much, she is still... portly. *sigh*

She is, at least, slapping at him a little less, hissing a little less, and I actually caught her sninffing his nose this morning, which was sweet for the .03 seconds it lasted before she started raising her paw to swat him. XD I told her, "No!" and she put her paw down and gave me a look of utter disgust, but she did get a piece of her favorite Temptations treat because Progress Had Been Made (however tiny).

This is what's going on at the moment....

https://instagram.com/p/B0OKhoMDnbN

Pepper continues to be very chill about Boomer's presence. She even, shortly after bedtime, sneaked into the bedroom and up onto the bed and slept with me, despite Boomer being in his crate at the end of the bed.

Maybe, hopefully, we'll eventually have peace amongst the beasties in this house!

Comments

[nefhiriel.livejournal.com]

XD Animals. What would we do for entertainment without them?

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Right now, my best answer to that is "take a nap." XD

[mrowe.livejournal.com]

Cats!

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Yep.

[shirebound]

Thanks for the update. I love that pic!

"What does it want? What is it? What isss it, Preciousssss?"

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure whether you meant Pip was thinking that, or Boomer, and then it occurred to me that it applies to either of them!

[shirebound]

LOL, I was thinking of Pip!

[imbecamiel.livejournal.com]

Awww, babies. Gotta love the intense drama of cats' reactions to things they disapprove of. That picture is absolutely adorable. Poor Boomer looks like he wants to be friends SO MUCH. <3 I hope the progress does continue in the right direction, however slow it may be... adaptation over time can work wonders in the end, as long as stubborn cats don't take up some mortal feud that only blood can solve. *g*

Captain got so many harsh nose smacks as a puppy but they were very well deserved because he was an Extremely Rude pup. He was lucky they kept patiently giving him second (and third, and tenth, and hundredth...) chances to mend his ways after a brief "leave me alone" time out because he... did not learn proper cat etiquette or restraint quickly. XD

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Boomer has definitely had his share of disciplinary nose bops! How long did it take Captain and your cats to reach a state of, if not friendship, then at least non-combative coexistence?

[imbecamiel.livejournal.com]

It varied a lot with all of them, really. Our oldest girl cat, Ella, was by far the easiest, which surprised us because she's the most adamant about hating other animals in general. She flipped out, hissing and absolutely furious when she first saw him, but you could actually see the second she realized he was "just" a dog and not another cat because she calmed right down and has been exceedingly patient and friendly with him ever since. Even when he licks her so enthusiastically he almost knocks her over, she's just kind of like, "Well, that's life, I guess." XD

I'd say with Ro, our boy cat, it was probably a couple of months of more intense "training" before Captain started to get the idea that he was going to have to (try to) behave if he wanted to be friends. Ro's kind of an old man set in his ways who doesn't want to be ruffled, though, so we have inaccessible-to-dog space for him to be unbothered and they're happy enough in small doses.

Ziva, your siamese, was the most complicated because we got her after Captain was an adult and she wasn't already used to dogs, plus they tend to be in each other's space a lot more than the others. Their interactions were pretty controlled and supervised for the first six months, I'd say? They're both very treat-oriented, though, so we did a lot of work initially getting both of them to associate each other with good things and otherwise kept them apart to prevent Incidents until they were both pretty relaxed. It was almost two years before she actually started to willingly participate in his attempts to play or snuggle, though, rather than running away or attacking him when he tried to join her in her favorite nap spots, lol.

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Ah, Ella sounds a lot like Pepper. She was reserved at first but now I'm catching them actually chasing each other around, plus she'll tag along on walks just like she did with Domino, which is... a mixed blessing, because he tends to turn into a wild Mexican jumping bean when she's around. XD So training goes from "keep the leash loose, good boy" to "OMG BOOMER STOP YOU'RE ABOUT TO GO INTO ORBIT AROUND MY HEAD LIKE A JUNEBUG ON A STRING!!" So then I usually have to just pick him up and go inside and try again another time when Pepper is busy napping on the deck. XD

Pip *would* be treat oriented, but that's the problem: she's TOO treat oriented and is unmistakably Obese, so I can't really entice her to love Boomer with treats. Instead, I give her lots of praise and pets and then get out the brush and brush her when she's sitting calmly with Boomer practically in her face. I think it's working because the hissing is becoming less constantfrequent. :)

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I do love that picture! Good that progress is being made :)

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

He's definitely making progress. I was just telling Dink that every day he shows more skills, especially skills in getting into things I didn't think he could reach!

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

Sounds as if you are making progress.

[engarian.livejournal.com]

Ah ... sibling rivalry. They'll work it out, and I suspect that the cold of winter might also help in that process.

- Erulisse (one L)

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

I agree. Boomer will be bigger by then and hopefully too big to fit through the cat door, so I can leave it open for the cats to come and go. That should help, as well. Pip *is* at least staying in the same rooms more now.

[layne67.livejournal.com]

That picture is made of Win!! And I do so enjoy reading the Saga of Boomer and Pip :))