Hi everyone. So I'm looking for some tips if any of you have any to offer.
About a year ago, I rescued a three year old cat named Juniper, who has overall adjusted beautifully with only a few minor hiccups along the way. She's playful affectionate, and adaptable, and she has been socializing well with my mom's dog for several months now.
Anyway, I volunteer weekly at a local animal shelter, where I walk dogs, and about a month ago, I hosted one of our long term residents for an overnight visit to my apartment to give her a cage break. Her name is Ruffles, and she's 5 year old pitbull with a very mellow personality and had done well with other dogs and generally ignored small animals like squirrels outside, so hosting her with my cat with proper separation and precautions seemed like a safe choice, especially since my cat has done well with dogs. The night went wonderfully. Juniper hopped the gate I had set up to separate her from the dog almost immediately and after hissing briefly and eliciting no reaction from the dog, decided that she didn't mind our guest. Both pets slept in bed with me that night with no issues.
Over the past month, poor Ruffles was adopted and returned twice to the shelter for unrelated reasons that were mainly due to incompetent owners. So I decided to adopt her. I brought her home this past weekend (Feb 7) and it's been going really well. Ruffles really doesn't pay attention to Juniper at all, and Juniper is politely curious about Ruffles. Adjusting my schedule to having a dog in my life and making sure she's properly exercised and crate trained has been taking up a lot of my time though, and I do know that I haven't been paying quite as much attention to Juniper. Juniper has been getting into more stuff lately, knocking things off surfaces, spilling things, etc, and it could be a result of irritation, jealousy or boredom. I know it's Juniper getting into things since the dog is crated when I'm not around. I want to try to make sure I schedule some play time with Juniper daily, but I was wondering if any of you had any other tips about ways to pamper the kitty a little as she adjusts to not being the center of attention anymore. Nothing she is doing is too concerning, but I of course worry that this transition is harder for her that it appears to be on the surface.
Thanks!
About a year ago, I rescued a three year old cat named Juniper, who has overall adjusted beautifully with only a few minor hiccups along the way. She's playful affectionate, and adaptable, and she has been socializing well with my mom's dog for several months now.
Anyway, I volunteer weekly at a local animal shelter, where I walk dogs, and about a month ago, I hosted one of our long term residents for an overnight visit to my apartment to give her a cage break. Her name is Ruffles, and she's 5 year old pitbull with a very mellow personality and had done well with other dogs and generally ignored small animals like squirrels outside, so hosting her with my cat with proper separation and precautions seemed like a safe choice, especially since my cat has done well with dogs. The night went wonderfully. Juniper hopped the gate I had set up to separate her from the dog almost immediately and after hissing briefly and eliciting no reaction from the dog, decided that she didn't mind our guest. Both pets slept in bed with me that night with no issues.
Over the past month, poor Ruffles was adopted and returned twice to the shelter for unrelated reasons that were mainly due to incompetent owners. So I decided to adopt her. I brought her home this past weekend (Feb 7) and it's been going really well. Ruffles really doesn't pay attention to Juniper at all, and Juniper is politely curious about Ruffles. Adjusting my schedule to having a dog in my life and making sure she's properly exercised and crate trained has been taking up a lot of my time though, and I do know that I haven't been paying quite as much attention to Juniper. Juniper has been getting into more stuff lately, knocking things off surfaces, spilling things, etc, and it could be a result of irritation, jealousy or boredom. I know it's Juniper getting into things since the dog is crated when I'm not around. I want to try to make sure I schedule some play time with Juniper daily, but I was wondering if any of you had any other tips about ways to pamper the kitty a little as she adjusts to not being the center of attention anymore. Nothing she is doing is too concerning, but I of course worry that this transition is harder for her that it appears to be on the surface.
Thanks!