Bringing A Dog Home To LIve With Your Cats

Jessie entered the room, the silence was deafening. One new dog face to face with the resident three cats. Thoughts of the battle of Waterloo were sounding in my head, would there be peace in the valley or all hell breaking lose? The four children were spellbound as if frozen in time. Would there be a melt down? I could feel my heart pounding for this was not the homecoming planned. Somehow Ruby, Lucy and Romeo had an esp moment and managed with the help of an open window to place themselves in a strategic position ready for the arrival of Jessie.

The new kid on the block was a gorgeous miniature black poodle christened Jessie by his former owner a fun loving extrovert that my four- legged friends would somehow sort it all out. Confident and fearless my resolve was in place as Jessie and I braced for this meeting of characters from a play I had once read. In a motionless dance we stood face to face. Who would be the brave one who would take the chance?

It should have been no surprise that loveable rogue Romeo would be the one to greet this petrified poodle with a loving embrace. You could almost hear a pin drop as we imagined his voice. "Hey there young Jessie welcome to the fold" As if the ice was truly broken Auntie Lucy followed suit and meowed her approval as she walked out the door. Ruby, the Queen of our home seemingly disinterested as she stood quietly by the door, no sign of dissension not a single transgression of a rebuff was in sight. Without any warning like a spark to a flame, my royal star ended this standoff with a bang. In a flash she was mobile, no paws on the ground as she raced toward Jessie hissing and growling. As I scooped up Queen Ruby with no moments to spare I avoided poor Jessie from a trip to the vet.

Weeks have gone by and some progress has been made. Romeo and Jessie have become the best of friends and are an interesting twosome as they walk with me on the way to the park. The neighbours are truly entertained by the sight of a ginger cat with a fluffy white do, as it must be a sight not too often seen. The bond between these two guys is spiritual by nature and so easily formed. Lucy is adorable as she watches the scene she has become so much happier since the arrival of Jessie, her depression has ended I am happy to say, for in her previous home she had a dog friend who she had missed very much.

Now I know you are all waiting to see how Ruby, got on. Even though Rome was not built in a day these two are not blessed with an affinity for each other. Ruby tends to sleep on top of the very high TV cabinet far away from Jessie. The old adage that people sometimes just do not get on is true here; they are relentless in their utter dislike for each other. Like I said earlier. "Two out of three is not bad" and with a lot of love and understanding my new family is proving to be a blessing. Whenever a new child whether it be human or otherwise is introduced into an established family there are bound to be adjustments and unusual behaviour. As the mum of all of them it will be your job to bring them all together. If like Jessie and Ruby the daggers are out and seem permanent you may want to re- home the newbie. But if like me you already have a larger group in place a little perseverance and adjusting could make all concerned happy while you write your psychology thesis. "Cats and Dogs

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