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- May 19, 2017
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Hey people,
I have an 7 year old black lab and I just adopted a black cat rescue about 6 months ago, mostly for my cat-loving girlfriend. He is quite a handful but I've grown to love him. Unfortunately, he is causing some tension between us. He is mostly nocturnal and interrupts our sleep cycle (mostly mine) and I get frustrated. He attacks my feet, legs, and hands in the middle of the night. He will forever have his claws and I understand that, but when I jump from being stabbed my girlfriend gets irritated with me. She blames me for reacting. I have since started putting him out in the hall and closing the door so he can freely burn off his energy without interrupting my sleep. She's not happy about it, but I think it's a compromise we've established.
I guess my concern is what happens in the future? I'll do every suggested thing I can to correct or palliate the issues, but what about our relationship. We want to get married soon, but I'm concerned about this being a lasting issue. In her eyes, the cat can do no wrong, which I somewhat agree in that he is a cat and it's in his nature to play rough. However, it's the me being the problem when I react to being hurt. I'm a tough enough guy and can handle a decent amount of pain, but when I'm woken from sleep in a relaxed state by feline daggers I can't help but yelping and sometimes getting upset about it. Do I just have to accept that she blames me and put up with her being upset with me?
Any suggestions are welcome!
I have an 7 year old black lab and I just adopted a black cat rescue about 6 months ago, mostly for my cat-loving girlfriend. He is quite a handful but I've grown to love him. Unfortunately, he is causing some tension between us. He is mostly nocturnal and interrupts our sleep cycle (mostly mine) and I get frustrated. He attacks my feet, legs, and hands in the middle of the night. He will forever have his claws and I understand that, but when I jump from being stabbed my girlfriend gets irritated with me. She blames me for reacting. I have since started putting him out in the hall and closing the door so he can freely burn off his energy without interrupting my sleep. She's not happy about it, but I think it's a compromise we've established.
I guess my concern is what happens in the future? I'll do every suggested thing I can to correct or palliate the issues, but what about our relationship. We want to get married soon, but I'm concerned about this being a lasting issue. In her eyes, the cat can do no wrong, which I somewhat agree in that he is a cat and it's in his nature to play rough. However, it's the me being the problem when I react to being hurt. I'm a tough enough guy and can handle a decent amount of pain, but when I'm woken from sleep in a relaxed state by feline daggers I can't help but yelping and sometimes getting upset about it. Do I just have to accept that she blames me and put up with her being upset with me?
Any suggestions are welcome!