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- Jun 11, 2019
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My cat, Friday, has been living with me in my house for about three weeks now. Previously he was my parents' farm cat, so he spent most of his time sleeping either in the shade or in the barn. He seems to be doing a decent job of adjusting, especially to living with one of my dogs in particular who can just be...a lot (he's playful, energetic, insecure, anxious, reactive, etc.). Dog isn't mean to the kitty but he does bark sometimes which Friday doesn't like, and he tries to play sometimes, which Friday doesn't like - the dog's play style must be really off because no one really ever wants to play with him.
Anyway, my house is small - two bedrooms. I've set up the second bedroom, my office, as a Friday zone. His litter box is in there, his food is in there, and he has several beds in there he likes to frequent: two chairs, a pillow behind a chair for when he wants to hide, and a mat on a bookcase that allows him to look out the window into the backyard.
My concern is that he never really wants to leave that room, but he does seem to get lonely in there. I've convinced him a few times to come into my bedroom (he always ends up under the bed though) and rarely to go into the living room (where he ends up under the couch). I don't think he's at all afraid of my dogs, but maybe he's still adjusting because he does seem a bit timid to go out there?
Anyway, I bought a window ledge to put in my living room that is high above the dogs. I figured it would give him an 'escape' from them while still letting him be part of the action and he can look out a different window that faces the street where more interesting things happen. I've put him up there several times and he likes to sit and watch things but he always ends up just crying and leaving to go back to his room.
I want to give him some more stimulation and things to look at, I just hope I'm doing enough. There are birds in the backyard and he can get sunshine on that bookcase. But a lot of my house windows have window frosting on them because of my dog's reactivity, so I have to be selective as to what windows poor Friday can actually see out of.
Do you think I'm doing okay? Is there a way to encourage him to lay/explore more frequently?
Anyway, my house is small - two bedrooms. I've set up the second bedroom, my office, as a Friday zone. His litter box is in there, his food is in there, and he has several beds in there he likes to frequent: two chairs, a pillow behind a chair for when he wants to hide, and a mat on a bookcase that allows him to look out the window into the backyard.
My concern is that he never really wants to leave that room, but he does seem to get lonely in there. I've convinced him a few times to come into my bedroom (he always ends up under the bed though) and rarely to go into the living room (where he ends up under the couch). I don't think he's at all afraid of my dogs, but maybe he's still adjusting because he does seem a bit timid to go out there?
Anyway, I bought a window ledge to put in my living room that is high above the dogs. I figured it would give him an 'escape' from them while still letting him be part of the action and he can look out a different window that faces the street where more interesting things happen. I've put him up there several times and he likes to sit and watch things but he always ends up just crying and leaving to go back to his room.
I want to give him some more stimulation and things to look at, I just hope I'm doing enough. There are birds in the backyard and he can get sunshine on that bookcase. But a lot of my house windows have window frosting on them because of my dog's reactivity, so I have to be selective as to what windows poor Friday can actually see out of.
Do you think I'm doing okay? Is there a way to encourage him to lay/explore more frequently?