I've been testing Savannah and Sweet Pea lately, leaving them both together in the kitchen, breakfast room, and TV room when I have errands to do in town that don't take most of the day. When we first brought Savannah home, I kept puppy and cat separated for a few days, with Sweet Pea in the TV room all of the time, and giving Savannah the run of the kitchen and breakfast room. I'm sure that Sweet Pea knew there was a dog in this house but not until his curiosity got the better of him and he started to meow by the TV room door did I open it up to let them meet nose-to-nose. When Sweet Pea started that meowing by the closed door, Savannah would sit in front of the door with her head tilted to the side as she studied the wood door. Savannah had not been exposed to cats before and I didn't know what to expect.
From the very beginning, Savannah was fine with Sweet Pea, wanting to play but being gentle with that cat. I'm sure that Sweet Pea must have thought that we'd lost our minds, but he's a very accommodating cat and doesn't seem to be upset that much with changes of any kind, which is very un-cat-like. Our two outside cats, Gatsby and Mickey, have not come into the house since Savannah entered our pet family. I figured that one puppy and one cat was enough to deal with in the house. I was looking to make it easier on me, the care-giver, rather than make it comfortable for the four-legged 'kids' that need all the care.
So far, so good, with all three cats and Savannah. Gatsby and Mickey are content to sit in the sun or curl up on the porch furniture during the day, and then into the garage they go at night, with access to the fenced-in chicken coop if they want some fresh air or star-gazing after dark. Sweet Pea has always been an inside cat since we found him in the barn a few years ago, and he's a well-behaved cat who deserves to be pampered in the house. Gatsby was always a street-wise outside cat, coming in just when the weather got too cold, and Mickey was an inside cat from Day One until he started thinking outside his litter box... then he got demoted to the porch and the garage.
Savannah has been showing her patience with Sweet Pea lately, who sometimes naps in a corner of that big plush dog bed. Sweet Pea has a small pillow-bed of his own, equally as plush but more cat-sized, but I guess sometimes he wants to stretch out and play King Of The Doggie Bed, which doesn't sit well with Savannah. Try as she might, Savannah's nose-nudges aren't enough to move Sweet Pea when he's sleeping in her dog bed. Savannah tends to just walk away but then goes back to her bed every five minutes or so until she's convinced that Sweet Pea is just not going to move and that's that.
There was an afternoon when I gave Savannah one of those extra-large Milk Bone dog biscuits and she took it over to her bed, put her two front paws in the middle of the bed and then proceeded to crunch down on that biscuit. All the crumbs and pieces fell right on top of Sweet Pea, who very quickly and most indignantly jumped out of that bed. Savannah watched him leaving, then calmly ate up the pieces of her biscuit, and then just as calmly curled up in her bed and went to sleep. As much as Savannah seems to like Sweet Pea, she doesn't necessarily want to share her bed with him, and that's fine. I've decided to just let the two of them work things out for themselves, and I don't get into their puppy-cat squabbles.
I've gone into town quite a few times these past few weeks and left the door to the TV room open, with both Sweet Pea and Savannah having run of that room and the breakfast room and kitchen. The first time I did that, Savannah was sleeping on the sofa in the TV room and Sweet Pea was curled up and sound asleep in his bed in the kitchen. Both of them looked too settled and too cute to disturb, so I took a chance and just left them where they were, not even calling attention to my leaving. I literally held my keys quietly in my hand and closed the back door softly, hoping they wouldn't even wake up till I got home. They were still sleeping quietly when I walked in the back door three hours later, and that was a nice surprise.
As puppy-ish as Savannah can be at times, she has proven herself to be a thoughtful and respectful little dog. (Little? She's 65+ pounds now. Not so little anymore.) On Thursdays when the ladies come for tea, Savannah usually stays in her bed in the breakfast room till everyone has arrived. Then as the tea is poured and the craft supplies come out of their boxes, Savannah quietly walks into the dining room, looks at all of us sitting around the table, and then she goes into the living room which is usually closed off to both puppy and cat. On those afternoons, I keep myself focused on everyone and everything in the dining room, but keep one ear towards the living room so if Savannah does bother something that she shouldn't touch (i.e.: everything in that room) I can get up quickly and either correct her or take her out of that room.
For as many times as Savannah has been in the living room now, she hasn't touched one thing. Last Thursday when I was too intent on the day's craft-making, I noticed that it was too quiet in the living room and I got up quickly to investigate.... and there was Savannah, sound asleep in the middle of the living room carpet. Pretty as a picture she was, right in the center of the area rug, and I just left her right there and went back to the dining room.
As I type this now, Savannah is sleeping in her bed, which is in the corner of the breakfast room. She is snoring... a very un-lady-like snore which brings to mind an uncle of mine who used to fall asleep watching the late-night news. Savannah sounds quite like Uncle Mino at the moment, which is very comforting to hear after all these yeas.
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