Moving right along, seeking some space
07/15/2010 05:30 PM
Mercedes and Orlando are settling in to a pattern of occasional unpleasant interaction followed by seeking distance from each other.
The other night they got into their worst tangle, by far. It was like Orlando had finally had enough of her rejection and he just lit into her. It wasn’t a bloody fight, by any means, but still, we had to separate them. We grabbed Orlando and took him to the bedroom, where he slunk under the bed, as if to say he knew he’d done wrong. An hour later, when we went to get him out of the room, he had to be coaxed out from under the bed, meowing in response, as if to say he was sorry.
Mercedes, for her part, seemed to quickly get over it. She did not hunker down under a table or back herself into a corner. She was soon out and about in the house. When we brought them back together later, she did not immediately run for safety. She hissed and dared him to try it again. He didn’t.
So, we’ve decided to give them a bit more separation during the day when we are there. (They are always separated at night and when we aren’t present). So we bought a child gate and created a barrier between the upstairs and the downstairs. We keep Orlando downstairs and Mercedes upstairs most of the day. We do let the mingle for half an hour at a time and, so far, they’ve avoided any tangles.
We still see no reason, however, to believe they’ll ever be friends.
The other night they got into their worst tangle, by far. It was like Orlando had finally had enough of her rejection and he just lit into her. It wasn’t a bloody fight, by any means, but still, we had to separate them. We grabbed Orlando and took him to the bedroom, where he slunk under the bed, as if to say he knew he’d done wrong. An hour later, when we went to get him out of the room, he had to be coaxed out from under the bed, meowing in response, as if to say he was sorry.
Mercedes, for her part, seemed to quickly get over it. She did not hunker down under a table or back herself into a corner. She was soon out and about in the house. When we brought them back together later, she did not immediately run for safety. She hissed and dared him to try it again. He didn’t.
So, we’ve decided to give them a bit more separation during the day when we are there. (They are always separated at night and when we aren’t present). So we bought a child gate and created a barrier between the upstairs and the downstairs. We keep Orlando downstairs and Mercedes upstairs most of the day. We do let the mingle for half an hour at a time and, so far, they’ve avoided any tangles.
We still see no reason, however, to believe they’ll ever be friends.
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