The Boys & Riley

       

     Can two dogs and a cat live in one household? My experiment begins on how to make  the dogs and cat live in one household.

     First night, cat carrier left outside the bedroom door as the cat and my daughter settled down for the night. It is late at night, it is after 11pm at this time, so there is not time for long introductions.

     Jack my cat chaser and cat hater sniffs the cat carrier and knows something is in that room. Dexter, on the other hand is clueless to what is going on or he does not care. Jack can usually get Dexter to start barking once he starts the barking.  But, this time, Dexter is just excited to have  my daughter Karen home.

     Is was a tense night with Jack constantly smelling the door and trying to dig his way through the plastic fence between him and the cat, known as Riley.  I end up closing the door in hopes of quieting down Jack.

     Jack is not stupid, he knows something is in that room by his constant smelling and agitated state.  I pick up Jack and try to tell him "it is ok, leave it."  I stay as calm as possible and use lots of positive reinforcement.

     It was bedtime. I go to bed and Jack goes with me as he normally does, but this time, I have to close my bedroom door, so Jack does not go back down the hall to make noises (barking and scratching) at the door. My daughter sleeps in the room with Riley the cat. The door is shut and the high plastic gate secure.

     Jack continues to want to get out of my room by his constant little digging at the door and little whines. It turned out that that he really did need to go outside,  I found the evidence in the second bathroom with two stools present on the floor.

     During the night, I had to frequently call Jack away from the door. "It is time to go to sleep," I tell Jack in my most calm voice that I can possibly have at this hour of the night.  We finally made it through the night and that was our first night.

     In the morning, I carry out Jack because I am not sure if my daughter is awake and she might have Riley with her.  First thing that Jack wanted to do was check out that door that had that cat in it.

     Our second day begins.  Wherever my daughter's door is open and Riley is in view, we are constantly saying "good boy" and we are patting Jack a lot. The plastic gate is still secure. 

     Riley is a gorgeous cat,  his temperament is laid back and friendly. He is 12 pounds of fluff, and he is 11 years old. I would steal Riley away from my daughter if she was not looking.  My boys are 12 and 17 pounds,  and lots hair too.

     Dexter has no problems with Riley, they sniff each other and everything is fine with these two.   

     For the next several days it it constant positive reinforcement with Jack when he sees Riley. If Jack cannot handle being quiet, the door is closed between him and Riley. And, Jack's attention is directed on something else.

     

Also, during the day, I take the boys outside and let them enjoy the outside air and smelling stuff or just sitting around while I do stuff around the yard. While the boys are outside, Riley is free to roam the house on his own. This routine is repeated several times a day over the next several days.

     This is the fifth day and we are making great progress. The dogs are loose in the house with Riley. I would never trust them at this point in leaving the boys and Riley by themselves. Riley would be put in his room to relax and sit or sleep in his cat tree looking outside.

     My daughter informed me this morning that she brought  Riley into the living room for another introduction with Jack last night. I was not home, I work the night shift at the hospital. "My daughter informed me, "they did great, there was a time they were all sitting together looking out the front door." "It was a great time to take a picture, but I did not have my phone to take the picture," sighs my daughter. "And, Riley was sitting in the middle while they were looking outside.

     I watched Jack try to interact with Riley today and Jack wants to constantly sniff Riley. And Riley wants his space, a cat can only take so much stiffing and it is time to back off.

     My daughter also informed me she had a talk with Jack about Riley's personal space and my husband told her, "he does not know what you are saying" and my daughter quickly says "you never know."

     I am sitting out in the living room now and all three animals are in the same room. The boys stay near me and Riley is stretched out on the floor relaxing. I think this going to work out.

     Sixth day, no problems. Riley came out into the kitchen this morning,  both boys present. Dexter does his sniff introductions.      Jack still curious, but not overly anxious and not smelling Riley or getting into Riley's personal space.  Hmmmmmm.... I think that little talk with Jack really did help.  And, the boys know Riley's name,  because when we say Riley's name, the boys look up and start looking around for Riley.