Merlin is home! It went way better than we were expecting.

First thing we did was get the cage set-up and ready for him. So when I came home with him Den held Jo back while I quickly put Merlin in the cage and closed it. Then we let Jo go and watched. Merlin checked out the cage while Jo came over to sniff everything possible. Jo wasn’t being territorial at all, but he was a little nervous and not sure what the heck that thing was and why was it in his house? He’d lean forward to sniff, then jump backwards. Merlin, for the most part, was wholly unconcerned by everything, he just seemed to wish he could get out of the cage to explore more. He looked around his cage for a while, ate some food, drank some water, used the litterbox. Jo, surprizing us both, stayed close to the cage to check out the new dude.

“WTF?!”

Sniffing

Can I come out now?

Merlin right away was sticking his paw out of the cage to touch Jo, he seems to love other cats. A little while later, after watching Merlin for a while, Jo tried getting his attention by doing the same thing. It was so cute!

When we let the dogs into the living room it was a bit interesting. Merlin’s first reaction to Zeeke was to puff up like a porcupine and hiss. He did not seem impressed by the big barking thing. Not at all. Zeeke was immediately obsessed.

Zoe didn’t really seem to understand what was going on at all. She just wanted to greet me, who had just come home from work. Zeeke was barking and spazzing, Zoe was put off by all the energy zapping around the room. We let her in the kitchen to let her check out the new cat, and she seemed even more put off by that - she just didn’t want to be in the kitchen. She always gets yelled at for being in the kitchen, it’s scary. She did notice the cat and go up to the cage to sniff him, but when he so much as twitched she hid behind me. Because of this Merlin filed her under the “unimportant” label and totally ignored her, even when she was sniffing him. He just didn’t care.

So after a while Jo had layed down on the kitchen floor to take a nap and Merlin was eating after napping in his litterbox (don’t ask, I haven’t the foggiest). Den and I shrugged and opened Merlin’s cage to let him out. It should have been too soon, but honestly it was going so well. So Merlin came walking out. Jo got to his feet to check him out up-close.

And it continued going so well we couldn’t believe it. The cats sniffed each other. Merlin explored the kitchen while Jo alternated sniffing him and sniffing the cage where he had been. It was so low-key. Jo just followed him around, sniffing here and there. We let Zoe in the kitchen again, she sniffed Merlin again. Merlin again ignored her. It appears Zoe is just not going to be a problem at all. Jo had the exact same reaction to her - “A dog!! Wait. It’s afraid of me. Oh, okay then. Maybe I can beat it up…” Merlin’s not quite at the “picking on her” stage, but I bet he will be soon. Zoe is just such an easy target, she’s so docile. LOL

Hi dude.

Follow the leader…

Zoe doing the butt-sniffing thing

Pretty boy

There’s a cat in my sink

Still following

A little nervous, are we?

And then Merlin surprized us all. He went sauntering across the countertop to where Zeeke was sticking his head over the babygate. They sniffed noses. Merlin sat down… layed down… then stretched out and relaxed. With Zeeke’s head less than two feet away.

Yeah, okay, I see you there

Whatever

Yawn

He isn’t brave enough to venture out of the safety of the kitchen - Zeeke is pretty darn scary. Zeeke did lunge at the babygate twice with a mean-sounding bark, causing Merlin to puff up halfway. But honestly? It took a year for Jojo to approach Zeeke in a fairly relaxed manner and not take off running. I’m seriously impressed, and I think Merlin could very well become friends with Zeeke in time. I sure hope so.

Den spent time with the cats today too. He sat on the floor and Merlin did his usual - climbed all over him, headbutted, and purred. Den even looked slightly amused by this, it was cute. We’re sure to give Jo equal attention, too.

So it did go pretty much how we expected - Zoe is a non-issue, Jo is a little weirded out but okay, Zeeke is a barking monster, and Merlin doesn’t really give a shit except about Zeeke.

I think we are finally getting somewhere with Zeeke in regards to appropriate behavior around the cat. Den just let him out of his office, and when Zeeke saw the cat on the bed he was predictably a little ramped up about it. But he’ll leave the room and come back in - and he hasn’t put even a paw on the bed. He’s slowly (slowly) learning the rules, the limits. We’ve really been strict with him about the bed, he is simply not allowed on it, period. He has a dog bed on the floor right beside the bed that is all his. He has the old futon in Den’s office. We do let him sleep on the couch sometimes. But he does not get on the bed. The fact that he is respecting that rule, even when the cat is laying in the middle of the bed, tempting him… well that is a big step for him. I’m impressed.

The baby gate hasn’t gone back up in the kitchen, either. The dogs aren’t great with that and have to be constantly reminded, but all it takes is a “Eh, OUT.” I will find them both standing in the doorway, staring into the kitchen, ostensibly to figure out how they can sneak in. Zoe is actually worse than Zeeke, she just doesn’t seem to be as aware of the rule (typical of her, she’s a little bit naive). Zeeke is perfectly clear on the fact that the rule exists, he just decides he doesn’t need to listen to it - as evidenced by the fact that he goes running in there about .2 seconds after Den walks into the bathroom. “Woo hoo, here’s my chance!” Unfortunately, I was sitting right there.

And Zoe is doing a very strange thing just now. She’s on the bed, laying there. And every time he sticks his head over the bed to try to get to the cat she lunges at him and snaps at his face. At first I thought she was just trying to play with him, but just now she started her high-pitched yip-bark as she lunged - her “MINE, don’t touch!” bark that she makes when she’s protecting a bone. She appears to be protecting the cat?? I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it myself.

I am spending time on my laptop in bed, Zoe is napping on the bed beside me and Zeeke is in the other room with Den. I didn’t bother closing the bedroom door. So when Zoe and I went in, so did Jo. He’s curled up asleep on the bed right beside me as well. It is just so lovely to have my babies here beside me.

Today Zoe went with me on some errands. The first stop was the vet, to get her weighed: 29.6lbs. Perfect. The second stop was the feed store, to buy some more dog food since we were out. It’s one of the few retail places around here where I can take her with me. She did pretty well at first, following me down the aisles - but then some people were tossing bags of kitty litter onto a shelf and she got nervous. I got someone to grab the food and litter I wanted to buy and we went to the cash register. She really wasn’t happy about that. I paid, we went to the truck, she jumped in. Then the guy put the food in the back of the truck.

When I started driving away I caught a smell. “Oh no, Zoe, no. Don’t tell me.” After a few more seconds it was a sure thing: she’d pooped. I took a quick glance in the back during a red light, and saw smears on the fabric of the cargo hold. Uggg.

I held my breath and opened the windows for the ride home, then grabbed the disinfectent and sprayed and scrubbed the cargo hold. Gross. Even worse was Zoe herself. She had been scared at the time, so her tail was tucked. And… yeah, she pooped on her tail. Smeared, in fact, since she had then proceeded to move around and sit as much as possible.

So miss Zoe got her first bath. She didn’t like being put into the tub, but when I turned on the water… holy moly, you’d've thought I lit a fire under her. She wanted out of that tub and out of that bathroom. I ended up washing her rear by clamping her head between my thighs as she tried climbing out of the tub, trapping her rear end in the tub. I sprayed her down, lathered her up, and sprayed her down again. She was ever so relieved to be let out of that tub.

And that was my fun for the day. My, can we do that again?

:: ::

Two days ago Jojo had his annual vet appointment. I realized it with only 5 minutes to go, for some reason it had slipped my mind, so I was racing around the house grabbing things. First I grabbed the kitty kennel carrier. He hates carriers. He went nuts last time he was put in it. So I tossed that idea and grabbed his harness and leash.

He did well enough in the truck, though he was obviously unhappy with the whole situation. He apparently does NOT like vehicles. He yowled and pawed at the window. But once we were there he was great! I walked in holding a cat under my arm and announced his arrival. I took a seat down from a large boxer, who was panting in delight at being there (oh he was just so excited!). Now most people would worry about having a harnessed cat within sight of a large dog. But Jo was a star. I put him down on the seat beside me and he proceeded to look around. The dog didn’t merit any kind of special attention - it was out of reach and not too interesting looking, apparently.

In the exam room Jo flopped out on the exam table and let the vet do what needed to be done. Even the shots he got didn’t warrant any kind of reaction. Now Jo wasn’t happy to be there - a few times he crawled under the bench and layed down. But he was no hysterical kitty either.

I paid my bill with my cat standing on the floor, attached by leash to my wrist like any dog would be. He sniffed and tried pulling me towards the door.

And this is why we say he is more like a cat than a dog. I think he’s a bit confused. But that’s okay - we like him just the way he is.

Hubby is away for two weeks on business, so I am in charge of the zoo - good and bad, it’s all me.

The first day was rough. Normally I really look forward to that time of day when Den comes home and I can pass responsibility of Zeeke off to him and get him out of my hair. Right now I get two options during the day: he can either bark and chase the cat around, driving me crazy, or I can put him in his crate and I spend the day feeling guilty about it. And no matter what, he can’t stay in his crate all day.

First of all I’ll mention that since our labor day weekend vacation - we were both gone for 4 days and I had my boss come over to feed Jo once a day - Jo has been somewhat like sticky tape. He has definitely overcome his distaste for - and distrust of - Zeeke in order to be where we are, all the time. We are very happy to see Jo reach this point, we’ve been working on it for a year and a half, but unfortunately, Zeeke’s attitude has not evolved quite as much as Jo’s. He is still obsessed - and very, very obnoxious about it. So basically we spend all day with Zeeke following the cat around, growling and barking when Jo is in a spot he can’t get to. Plus they tend to knock a lot of things over, pull things off shelves, etc etc. I’m trying to keep this place clean and organized, and they’re like a little whirlwind of destruction.

So I’m trying to find some balance between me having some peaceful quiet hours, and Zeeke getting out to play and have fun. I think it’s going well - I am getting lots of things done and feeling sane, but Zeeke isn’t suffering too much. But with Jo out all the time, it’s time to face this problem head-on - or Zeeke will never spend any time out here. So we’re practicing down-stays - a lot. When he starts getting rough and pushy with the cat, I put him in a down. It usually takes 3 or 4 times of me getting up and putting him back before he “gets it” and gives up trying, but once he reaches that conclusion he’s doing really well. 15+ minutes I leave him there, with the cat walking around. The true measure, to me, is that Zeeke actually relaxes and puts his head down - still watches the cat - but isn’t on a hair-trigger. Currently I have released him from his stay, but he decided he was happy where he was and is asleep on his side. lol

Zoe has stopped blowing her coat, it’s back to normal with her - though she feels a lot thinner (no wonder, right?). And she has a lot of slobber on her from Zeeke. I used the rake to give her a light brushing today in the house (barely got out a handful of undercoat), but I’m going to have to use more tools tomorrow to get the sheen back in her coat and the slobber out of it. Yuck.

I took her to one of my meetings this week. The temperture has dropped to Fall levels, so it was nice and cool in the truck, where I left her - I didn’t want to waltz into the building with her. The ladies did come out with me afterwards to meet her. Zoe was far from impressed. She barely sniffed a hand or two, but she just wanted back in the truck, please and thank you - where she then hid. But I expected that. I hate seeing her like that, but if I don’t take her out to be around people, she’s never going to get over this. I was invited by the person who owns the building (my boss) that I could bring her in the room for the meeting - I’m debating whether that’s a good idea or not. I could easily set up a blanket in the corner or at my feet for her to lay on, and there’s only four of us in the meetings. But on the other hand I’m worried that it would be too much for her and that she might lose control of her bowels if she was freaked out enough. So I’m on the fence. There’s really no way to take her in before the other people. It might just be too much for her at this time. But I think I am going to continue bringing her with me and leaving her in the truck - quiet time in the truck is good for her to get used to being in a strange surrounding with nothing *active* happening, she can just chill and take it all in. (And she’s fine in the truck, she just lays down and/or naps. No chewing on things like Zeeke did/does.)

One thing I am thankful for: Zeeke and Zoe are both past the shoe-eating stage. Yay! I have left my shoes in the living room by the front door for I’d say over 6 months now, with only one or two small incidents (Zoe carrying one off, and looking puzzled when I take it away from her and give her her own toy - but no chewing has occurred). Zoe does have issues with my bedroom items - just earlier today I found she had gotten ahold of one of my small post-it note pads and chewn it. She also likes things like pens, ack (a few of mine have some dents in them from teeth). But honestly, unless she finds something on the tv tray or nighstand that she wouldn’t normally have access to (like post-it notes!) she’s very good. And Zeeke, at 3, is thankfully past that stage… though he will eat anything and everything food-like. Unfortunately the combination of Zeeke’s previous seperation anxiety issues and his propensity for pushing his way through barriers to get to things he really shouldn’t have, leaving him loose in the house when we’re gone is still something that makes hubby and I very nervous. Zoe, on the other hand… I’m considering that she might be at a stage that I can do that for short periods. Although I wonder if it’s even worth bothering - if given the choice, she would much rather be with Zeeke, wherever he is. So if he’s in his crate, she wants to be in her crate. I guess it doesn’t really matter one way or the other. It’s really too bad that the bedroom is her worst room, in terms of trustworthiness, or I’d start some trial runs.

In any case, our crew is doing well. All are currently sleeping, as I should be. Mom’s surviving. Let’s home I get through one and a half more weeks by myself.

Everyone is currently sleeping in the living room - everyone, including the cat. Zeeke is laying on the couch, as is Zoe, and Jojo is curled up on the floor (the floor!) in the hallway. I think Zeeke’s keeping half an eye on him. But holy cow. This is progress!

Let’s talk about the cat for a little bit. My “bud” - though I don’t pay as much attention to him as I should.

I guess while we were gone he didn’t get a whole lot of attention, as the housesitters were busy with Zeeke and Zoe - he got fed, but that was it. So when Den came home (a week before I did), Jo was estatically happy that one of his buddies was back. So happy, in fact, that he braved Zeeke in order to spend time with Den. This seems to have broken through that last barrier, and now Jo will willingly come out of the safety of the kitchen at any time, ignoring Zeeke. Now Zeeke just can’t let it go and continually harasses the cat, so Jo generally goes stalking back in there out of annoyance - but it’s not fear anymore. There are many times when I’ll find Jo curled up on Den’s lap at the computer desk, even though Zeeke is standing there staring.

Which is great! I love that Jo is coming out and walking around, being part of our lives instead of the cat in the cupboard. I like having him around, even if he can be annoying. I always have an audience when I pee - the dogs will stay out if I tell them to, but the cat always comes sauntering in. Which generally means Zeeke comes crashing in after him, not a fun thing when you’re sitting on the toilet!

Yesterday and today I’ve spent time in the bedroom with Zoe, as usual, but Jo’s been following me in too. He used to be scared of the bedroom, because it was where Zeeke was crated. He no longer has that fear, so he’ll come walking in. (He did it in the middle of the night once, when I got up in the dark - darted in between my legs. THAT was fun - very dark, Zeeke woke up and started chasing him around the room, Den’s trying to sleep, I’m trying to catch the cat and kick him out. No more cat in the bedroom at night!!) So he and Zoe were playing, Jo would dive under the covers and then lunge out to grab her. Then Jo curled up on top of Zoe’s crate right in front of the air conditioner - I think he likes the smells that come in from outside. That, or he’s a hot cat.

Jo still walks around “talking” to us. He’s currently moewling, and walking around giving me his trademark, “Mrrrrr?” He’s so expressive. I find myself talking back, without really knowing what I’m doing. It just honestly feels like he’s holding conversations with you. If only I could understand what he was saying - although I think it would run along the lines of, “Let me outside, you stupid human!” Cats. What can you do.

Up early this morning (thanks Zoe - do you have a sieve for a bladder?) and the cat’s hyper. Zoe walked by him and he did the whole crouch down, swish the tail, wiggle the butt, POUNCE. He can be so mean sometimes - he grabbed her legs and started gnawing (literally - he chomps on her legs like they were a nice fat drumstick). Then he jumped up and smacked and clawed her around the neck. And my poor little girl - who was corned in the bathroom - just stood there and gave me the most pitiful look. I had to shoo the cat away (to which he gave me the evil eye). She is just such a sweetheart when it comes to the cat, she just stands there. Sometimes she plays back, but when he gets rough with her she just… takes it. My silly, sweet girl.

We’re having some major breakthroughs! For about a week now, Jojo has been just wandering the house - when Zeeke is out. He seems to have finally lost his fear of the big galumph, and is mainly ignoring him. Zeeke just can’t let him go though… he follows the cat every step of the way, shoving his nose under his stomach, on his head, sniffing at him, licking him… you name it. So I credit Jo for putting up with it… he doesn’t always, though. Once in a while he’ll stand up and smack at Zeeke (who takes a giant leap backwards). Zeeke’s taken a few claws.

It’s a little weird, though, having the cat come sashaying into the bedroom and jump up beside me. I’m really not used to it yet! It’s rather annoying, though, because Jo goes under the bed, Zeeke sticks his head under and runs from side to side, then Zoe crawls under the bed because she can’t figure out what’s going on… what a zoo.

I stayed up later today than I had intended. I was watching TV on the couch and Jojo jumped up behind me, then beside me, and curled up and fell asleep. That made me smile. Zoe walked over and I ended up pulling her onto my lap, where she layed down and fell asleep. Her bum was on my lap, with her front legs on my arm and her head resting on a pillow beside me - she’s a tad too big to lay entirely on my lap. She was so adorable. It brought me back to when she’d sleep like that on my lap when she was a pup. I felt so happy and at peace, with one darling on my lap and the other snoozing beside us, well, I just couldn’t get up and disturb them! So I watched another show before going to bed.

My Zoe… she’s everything I ever wanted. Ever being worried about her bonding more to Zeeke or Den seems so silly now… she is fully my dog, she’s my little shadow. I thank the light that she came to me. I think about how lucky I was - to have found her photo up on Petfinder and known then that she was meant to be mine, that I was lucky enough to have been approved and be the one to bring her home! I can’t bear the thought of the possibility that she could have gone anywhere else.

By the way, Zoe’s new collar arrived today. She looks absolutely beautiful in it.