Hannah Kate and Me

A day in the life of a mom.
Some days are full of fun, some are full of frustration.
But just like I say to the kids
"you get what you get and don't have a fit".

Friday, February 6, 2009

New cat day 1

So we went to RAL yesterday and met our new cat. She is sooo sweet and the family fell in love with her just like I did, so we brought her home. I talked to a animal trainer before we brought her home so I would know how to introduce the dog and cat together. She said to isolate the cat in one room for the night and then the next day let her roam free in the house while the dog is contained. This was working great until Kate wanted to go into the bathroom where the cat was and let Bilbo in, I have never seen a cat jump so high. She leaped from the floor to the top shelf in our closet - I think Bil freaked her out. So after that we took Bilbo downstairs and kept the cat upstairs until we could figure out a better way. I thought if we could just put the cat somewhere that Bil could see her but not get her we might be a bit better off. So we pulled out the old baby gates and closed in the playroom. We put the cat in the playroom and left Bil in the hallway/kitchen where he could see her and the girls could pet her. For the next 4 hours Bilbo cried and paced back and forth and the cat completely ignored him, so I felt like it was going well. And then when we went to bed we took Bilbo up with us - like we do every night - and we left the cat downstairs with food and water. Well little miss kitty has never been alone so she cried all night and kept Bilbo up whining. It was like having a new born in the house again. Finally everyone calmed down and we fell asleep. And Hannah said the next morning that she let the cat in her room because she was crying, so sweet.

Today went well as long as the cat is in the play room and the dog is not we're fine. But at one point the cat decided to venture out and Bilbo went after her and it sounded worse than it was, so I think the cat will stay in the playroom from now on. I think all Bilbo really wants to do is sniff her and love her but she really doesn't want that, you can't blame a girl for putting up a fight.

Everyone is quiet tonight so I think we'll get some well needed sleep tonight.

We're still trying to give her a name, we're thinking of Lucy, we'll let you know.

1 comment:

gba_gf said...

Hey- having a JRterrorist myself I can relate... here's a thought so that Bilbo can get the sniffing out of his system. Try putting the cat in a carrier and letting the carrier sit on the floor where Bil can see it, sniff it, etc. Sure sure, it sounds like torture for the cat, and it probably is, but it's far better than 20 sleepless nights and cat v. dog every day for a month, which would be BAD if it happened while you were out. Heidi once got a puncture wound in her face that got infected, and Heidi's sister lost an eye to her cat. Yes, you heard me... the vet bill alone was ugly, not to mention the tragedy of having a one eyed JRT. So it is a slightly big deal to ensure that the cat becomes "uninteresting" as quickly as possible. At least that should appease some of his curiosity.

Our cat can hold his own against Heidi and they get into scuffs often- usually Heidi has to take cover in her crate by the end of it.