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Introducing the New Members of the Household

A while back, I mentioned that I would be moving soon. Same complex, just a bigger apartment because I’m joining forces with some roommates. Those roommates have cats. We talked a lot about how to introduce my dogs, Moose and Lally, to their cats. We came up with plans to give the cats a safe space, and give them time to roam the apartment without dogs around. (More on this to come, I promise!) For now, I wanted to introduce the new members of the household. Kachiko is an eight year old snowshoe Siamese cat. She’s a sweet, mischievous little … Continue reading →

Becoming a Multi-Species Household

Hard to believe it’s been eighteen months since I moved cross country with the dogs! A lot has happened in the last year and a half, which I guess is what makes the time fly by so quickly. I’m at lease renewal time, and have been talking with some friends about possibly sharing an apartment (and cutting down cost of living for all involved). Great plan, right? There’s only one catch. My friends have cats. Lally has become quite the kitty hunter since we moved. She gets such a thrill out of flushing cats out of the bushes around the … Continue reading →

Spring Fever: Moose’s Version

My shepherd mix Moose is handling the change of seasons very differently from my boxer mix Lally. Lally welcomed spring with an allergy attack of massive proportions. She’s been to the vet three times, taken steroids, antihistamines, and antibiotics (plus three different kinds of skin cream) to clear things up and is FINALLY getting back to normal. For Moose, spring has been more of an emotional change. Moose isn’t the most active dog out there. My roommates and I sometimes call him “Speed Bumpy” because he’s often found sprawled and snoring. He is a dog of comfort. But the warmer … Continue reading →

Building a Kitty Condo: Day One

The dog/cat negotiations around the apartment are somewhat stalled. My roommates’ cat Shiro (who we expected to be the chicken of the pair) has been venturing out into the hallway, but will back off once my dogs appear at the baby gate. The other cat, Kachiko, will observe from afar but won’t go past the doorway. It’s been like this for a few weeks now. The dogs have learned to be reasonably calm at the gate, thanks to lots of treats and praise and everyone keeping a watchful eye on them. Once in a while — especially if one of … Continue reading →

Dogs and Cats Living Together: Not What We Expected

Before my dogs met my roommates’ cats, we had lots of talks about how we thought it would go. We discussed the best ways to introduce them, what to do if things went wrong, and our dreams of animal harmony. I thought Lally, my boxer/shar-pei mix, would be the problem child. When we’re out walking, she can be quite a cat chaser. If she saw cats inside the apartment, I figured she’d be trying to run them down. (I’m not sure what she’d do with a cat if she ever caught one, but that doesn’t stop her from trying.) My … Continue reading →

Dogs and Cats Living Together: The First Meeting

The big move is this weekend, so we all thought it would be a good idea to bring my dogs over a few times to meet my roommates’ cats. First things first: we got a fancy pet gate with a human-sized door and a kitty-sized door and installed it in the hallway. My roommates M. and S. have been encouraging the cats to think of the master bedroom as their “safe space” — their food, water, beds, and toys are all there. So hopefully the cats will know to run there if they’re spooked. Once the gate was up and … Continue reading →