Escorting Dot and Buster

I'm beginning to allow Dot and Buster to stare each other down for an
hour or so a day:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/Takayuki9z/P1000207a.jpg

What I'm doing with them is playing with the cat charmer with them,
moving the wand back and forth between Buster and Dot, allowing both
of them to bat the toy. Dot will still growl at Buster even while
playing, and will swat at his head instead of the toy if he gets too
close.

As well as supervised play, I'll let them both have full access to the
rooms at the same time. When I do this, I escort Dot closely. I keep
my body between the cats and don't allow Buster to approach closer
than about five feet from Dot.

Today, I was allowing them both to roam freely for a couple of hours.
Dot was lying on the platform next to me, but seemed to decide that
she wanted a snack. She jumped down and started inching towards the
hall. She looked at Buster's room - if the screen is intact, she'll
dash past it at this point, but she saw that it was open.

She dashed past it anyway, and encountered Buster, standing about 15
feet away. She stopped, growled, then dashed a course that took her
past him. As Buster readied for a pursuit lunge, I ran after Dot.
Seeing me following Dot, Buster hesitated and aborted the chase.

I quickly found Dot on the kitchen counter, waiting for the pursuer's
next move. Seeing that the pursuer was me and not Buster, she jumped
down and purred. She started eating her food. Buster peeked around
the corner, watching anxiously as Dot ate. This was Dot's regular
dish, but Buster had never seen Dot eat here before - he thought it
was his own second dish! Dot, seeing him out of the corner of her
eye, growled. Buster wanted to approach, but I shooed him away.

Later, Dot was on the living room couch, readying for a nap. Buster
was tired too. He curled up with his head on the carpeted scratching
post, and started to close his eyes. Dot stretched out her forepaws
and partially closed her eyes too. Then, Buster stretched and roused
himself, deciding that he wasn't so tired after all, and he batted and
ran after a sparkly ball. Dot's eyes went wide. Buster's play
eventually ended up with him going for a bite to eat in his own room,
where I went up and shut the screen.

They're both napping now, Dot on the sofa, and Buster in his room,
separated again. Buster is now dreaming of how wonderful it'll be
when his hoomin finally lets him have Dot as his own personal chase
toy. Dot now is dreaming of a utopia where no cats but her exist, and
she has dozens of hoomin slaves tending to her and feeding her ham.

Hey, that sounds like great progress Tak!!!!!!

"Takayuki" wrote in message
...
I'm beginning to allow Dot and Buster to stare each other down for an
hour or so a day:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/Takayuki9z/P1000207a.jpg

What I'm doing with them is playing with the cat charmer with them,
moving the wand back and forth between Buster and Dot, allowing both
of them to bat the toy. Dot will still growl at Buster even while
playing, and will swat at his head instead of the toy if he gets too
close.

As well as supervised play, I'll let them both have full access to the
rooms at the same time. When I do this, I escort Dot closely. I keep
my body between the cats and don't allow Buster to approach closer
than about five feet from Dot.

Today, I was allowing them both to roam freely for a couple of hours.
Dot was lying on the platform next to me, but seemed to decide that
she wanted a snack. She jumped down and started inching towards the
hall. She looked at Buster's room - if the screen is intact, she'll
dash past it at this point, but she saw that it was open.

She dashed past it anyway, and encountered Buster, standing about 15
feet away. She stopped, growled, then dashed a course that took her
past him. As Buster readied for a pursuit lunge, I ran after Dot.
Seeing me following Dot, Buster hesitated and aborted the chase.

I quickly found Dot on the kitchen counter, waiting for the pursuer's
next move. Seeing that the pursuer was me and not Buster, she jumped
down and purred. She started eating her food. Buster peeked around
the corner, watching anxiously as Dot ate. This was Dot's regular
dish, but Buster had never seen Dot eat here before - he thought it
was his own second dish! Dot, seeing him out of the corner of her
eye, growled. Buster wanted to approach, but I shooed him away.

Later, Dot was on the living room couch, readying for a nap. Buster
was tired too. He curled up with his head on the carpeted scratching
post, and started to close his eyes. Dot stretched out her forepaws
and partially closed her eyes too. Then, Buster stretched and roused
himself, deciding that he wasn't so tired after all, and he batted and
ran after a sparkly ball. Dot's eyes went wide. Buster's play
eventually ended up with him going for a bite to eat in his own room,
where I went up and shut the screen.

They're both napping now, Dot on the sofa, and Buster in his room,
separated again. Buster is now dreaming of how wonderful it'll be
when his hoomin finally lets him have Dot as his own personal chase
toy. Dot now is dreaming of a utopia where no cats but her exist, and
she has dozens of hoomin slaves tending to her and feeding her ham.

On Wed, 11 Jul 2007 16:49:15 -0400, Takayuki
yodeled:

I'm beginning to allow Dot and Buster to stare each other down for an
hour or so a day:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/Takayuki9z/P1000207a.jpg



Jeez, but they're cute!

Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh

Make Levees, Not War

On Jul 11, 3:49 pm, Takayuki wrote:
I'm beginning to allow Dot and Buster to stare each other down for an
hour or so a day:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/Takayuki9z/P1000207a.jpg

What I'm doing with them is playing with the cat charmer with them,
moving the wand back and forth between Buster and Dot, allowing both
of them to bat the toy. Dot will still growl at Buster even while
playing, and will swat at his head instead of the toy if he gets too
close.

As well as supervised play, I'll let them both have full access to the
rooms at the same time. When I do this, I escort Dot closely. I keep
my body between the cats and don't allow Buster to approach closer
than about five feet from Dot.

Today, I was allowing them both to roam freely for a couple of hours.
Dot was lying on the platform next to me, but seemed to decide that
she wanted a snack. She jumped down and started inching towards the
hall. She looked at Buster's room - if the screen is intact, she'll
dash past it at this point, but she saw that it was open.

She dashed past it anyway, and encountered Buster, standing about 15
feet away. She stopped, growled, then dashed a course that took her
past him. As Buster readied for a pursuit lunge, I ran after Dot.
Seeing me following Dot, Buster hesitated and aborted the chase.

I quickly found Dot on the kitchen counter, waiting for the pursuer's
next move. Seeing that the pursuer was me and not Buster, she jumped
down and purred. She started eating her food. Buster peeked around
the corner, watching anxiously as Dot ate. This was Dot's regular
dish, but Buster had never seen Dot eat here before - he thought it
was his own second dish! Dot, seeing him out of the corner of her
eye, growled. Buster wanted to approach, but I shooed him away.

Later, Dot was on the living room couch, readying for a nap. Buster
was tired too. He curled up with his head on the carpeted scratching
post, and started to close his eyes. Dot stretched out her forepaws
and partially closed her eyes too. Then, Buster stretched and roused
himself, deciding that he wasn't so tired after all, and he batted and
ran after a sparkly ball. Dot's eyes went wide. Buster's play
eventually ended up with him going for a bite to eat in his own room,
where I went up and shut the screen.

They're both napping now, Dot on the sofa, and Buster in his room,
separated again. Buster is now dreaming of how wonderful it'll be
when his hoomin finally lets him have Dot as his own personal chase
toy. Dot now is dreaming of a utopia where no cats but her exist, and
she has dozens of hoomin slaves tending to her and feeding her ham.

Wow, they are beautiful cats. You've only had them a short time,
but they look so well-cared-for & content. That looks like a pretty
peaceful stare-down, and they're very close to each other! You're
doing great.

Sherry

Takayuki wrote:

Today, I was allowing them both to roam freely for a couple of hours.
Dot was lying on the platform next to me, but seemed to decide that
she wanted a snack. She jumped down and started inching towards the
hall. She looked at Buster's room - if the screen is intact, she'll
dash past it at this point, but she saw that it was open.

She dashed past it anyway, and encountered Buster, standing about 15
feet away. She stopped, growled, then dashed a course that took her
past him. As Buster readied for a pursuit lunge, I ran after Dot.
Seeing me following Dot, Buster hesitated and aborted the chase.

I quickly found Dot on the kitchen counter, waiting for the pursuer's
next move. Seeing that the pursuer was me and not Buster, she jumped
down and purred. She started eating her food. Buster peeked around
the corner, watching anxiously as Dot ate.

This sounds altogether *too* familiar! :-/

I hope Dot learns to tolerate Buster eventually...

Joyce

"Karen" wrote:
Hey, that sounds like great progress Tak!!!!!!

Not really - they both behave the same way they always have. What's
progressed, I think, is just me. I've gradually allowed the two to
interact more and more, but their reactions would have been the same
even on the first day.

In fact, I have videos of when they first met at the cat shelter.
Someday I'll have to put it up when I have a chance. It's so funny,
it features Buster playing with toys at the shelter, and Dot watching
him suspiciously, just like today.

Kreisleriana wrote:
On Wed, 11 Jul 2007 16:49:15 -0400, Takayuki
yodeled:

I'm beginning to allow Dot and Buster to stare each other down for an
hour or so a day:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/Takayuki9z/P1000207a.jpg

Jeez, but they're cute!

You can sort of see why I tend to think of Buster as a full adult - he
has a broad, grown-up face, a calm expression, and wildcat stripes.
But they both have the cutest little vocalizations and sweet faces,
and I sometimes have to treat them like kittens.

Sherry wrote:
Wow, they are beautiful cats. You've only had them a short time,
but they look so well-cared-for & content. That looks like a pretty
peaceful stare-down, and they're very close to each other! You're
doing great.

If they were both on the floor, this distance would make a chase
almost inevitable - Dot will swat at Buster and run, in her classic
hit-and-run maneuver, and Buster would give chase. I allowed them to
be this close because they were on separate platforms, and couldn't
get at each other easily. I've never seen either successfully lay a
single paw on the other.

wrote:
This sounds altogether *too* familiar! :-/

I hope Dot learns to tolerate Buster eventually...

Is that how Smudge is with Licky? Dot's an indoor only cat, so yes,
they both have to learn to get along.

On Jul 11, 9:26 pm, Takayuki wrote:
snipped
- Dot will swat at Buster and run, in her classic
hit-and-run maneuver, ...
snipped

Heh. Yoda used to do that. My son used to call it a "drive-by
clawing".

Sherry