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- May 5, 2021
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She does seem to be much less afraid of him now, but of course he's been good and hasn't tried to jump on her hahaPositive update #2.
"Tonight's session started as normal. Fluffy was eating on the floor as usual and Sapphire was relaxing on the cushions." - Perfect
" Immediately after he was done eating, Fluffy turned around, walked around a bit, then laid down and started lazily playing with a toy on the ground." - Perfect
" Sapphire started eating her food which I put up on the cushions (I don't put it on the ground anymore because I know she will only nibble a bit, and when Fluffy sees the bowl of food that isn't his on the ground, he gets really fixated on it)." - Great
"Fluffy was laying down again a bit closer to me and when Sapphire was done eating, she jumped to the ground and walked a few feet out to the middle of the living room and just sat there." - LOVE that she was confident enough to come down and sit in the middle (own it).
" Fluffy did get up but was easily distracted with a treat and then laid down again and started to play with the small ball right beside him and was half watching Sapphire and half focusing on the toy." - Perfect, GREAT job with him.
" His tail was really wagging but he didn't seem like he was going to get up." - Ok
" Since he was being really good and didn't seem like he was going to get up, I started moving Da Bird with a brand new attachment back and forth in front of Sapphire because she actually didn't seem tense or nervous at all (her eyes were really wide and she actually looked pretty happy). She just watched the toy at first but then she took a few quick swats at her as I was putting it down. Out of the blue, Sapphire started to play like crazy on her own with the attachment piece that was laying on the ground for about 10/15 seconds." - Fantastic
" Fluffy immediately got really excited and got into his ready to play/chase/pounce position, but I was able to distract him with another treat " - Wow!!! I thought for sure he was going to start playing with the toy.
"and he calmed down before I gave them each another treat and then brought Fluffy to his room for bird videos and bed time." - Wow, fantastic!! I LOVE that they had a treat together.
" Sapphire didn't seem at all phased so I'd say it was a really positive encounter." - EXACTLY what we want to se. I am SO PROUD of her and Fluffy AND you!!!
"I want to add that I did get a new type of calming chew today from a small locally owned cat shop and gave one to Sapphire about half an hour before the session so that may have helped the tension levels as well." - Ok
" Fluffy didn't like the new ones, but I have another daily calming/anti anxiety chew I've been giving them for months to help with separation anxiety that he loves to eat with his breakfast." - Ok
"I'm thinking that when I'm not alone for the introductions, I'll try and get them both playing at the same time, that way Sapphire can keep playing and I won't have to worry about Fluffy getting too excited by her. " - Great idea.
Also, if you can just get Sapphire to play in that same area (with Fluffy in his room) that could be helpful.
Overall, this is a big step forward. GREAT JOB EVERYONE!!!!
She does like to lay near him in a box when they are seperated by gates. He usually lays just on the other side of the gate relaxed.
Here is a picture of sapphire relaxing watching him play with his puzzle feeder. When he saw her, he snuck over to the gate playfully and then he laid down.