So, I had this idea about leaving Mickey's door open with the gate in place for longer periods of time to help the other cats get used to him, occasionally rewarding them with treats if they behave themselves in his presence. Which seemed like it might be a promising approach, up until the point where Mickey finally figured out how to jump the gate. At which point, I kind of gave up, shrugged my shoulders and said, "OK, I guess we're at this stage now, ready or not," and let him wander around the house a little. Which provoked the following reactions in the other cats:
Nova: Hissed a little, but was easily distracted with a dollop of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. (He loves that stuff. Don't ask me why.)
Vir: Growled and hissed a lot. Followed Mickey around a little bit to growl and hiss at him some more. But showed no inclination to actually attack him. Hey, at this point, I'll take it.
Happiness: Was asleep in the living room. Barely opened her eyes, even when Vir was right across the room growling. Because Happiness is too old to deal with young cat bullshit. Go, Happiness.
So, I guess that's where we are. I'll start letting him out more now when I'm home and able to keep an eye on him. And eventually Vir will have to learn to deal. Right?
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Heh, trying to manage anything with cats eventually reaches a stage of shrugging shoulders... But that sounds like good progress. Fingers crossed...
ReplyDeleteI've never tried Muffin with I Can't Believe It's not Butter, but he's crazy about Philadelphia Light cheese. Trying to use it on sandwiches without giving him some is pretty much doomed.
Yeah, cats are... cats. :)
ReplyDeleteNova loves anything that tastes even vaguely of dairy, and I usually let him lick the bowl if I've been eating cereal or ice cream. And apparently he really can't believe it's not butter, because whenever I spread some on toast, he is delighted to lick the knife when I'm done. It's undoubtedly better for him than actual butter, anyway, since adult cats are almost inevitably lactose intolerant.
I can't believe he thinks that stuff tastes like butter.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have a case of sibling rivalry -- and here you thought you'd never have kids!
In fairness, while it may not exactly taste like butter, it does taste better than any other non-butter spready margarine stuff I've ever encountered. So at least he has some taste.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll tell ya, every day those cats make me glad I never had kids. They're way bad enough. Actual humans have to be about ten thousand times worse. :)