Cat and Dog

[aligator79]

Oliver died last night, he was hit by a car.  At 15 being indoor/outdoor he was almost double the normal life expectancy of them.  He went quick and wasn't sick for a long time.  That helps. But it's almost 5 months to the day that I lost Lucy.  

Now that Ollie and Lucy are gone Taz (13) will only get interaction with me for a few minutes a day when I am in the bathroom downstairs. That thought has had me in tears for weeks now even with his interaction with Ollie it's not fair to him.

Since he is terrified of Skeeter-the dog, I’m considering taking out spare room upstairs and making it a cat room.  Taking the junglegym and putting it in front of the window and putting in lots more stuff for him to play with, litterbox, food etc.  I’d keep a gate with a cat door or a screen door with the metal grate and cut a hole for him to get through in the doorway.  I’d try to reintroduce them again slowly and get a good shock collar for Skeeter (only use the vibrate but we were just getting to the point of Ollie and Skeeter getting along and she goes after Taz).  Maybe put in a gate in the hallway and let him have that end of the house until bedtime.  I’ve just been having a really bad time with Taz being downstairs alone so much. He's always been a lazy butt and I never found a toy that he will play with more than a few minutes. I've tried everything.

I even had a random thought last week to get him a buddy but wasn’t sure how that would go over with him at his age being a lazy butt.  BUT if I do the room kitty could either go in with Taz or hang in the rest of the house with Skeeter, dad and I. If I got a baby then Skeeter might react differently and be a mommy.

Thoughts?

[zodiacqueen]

I am so sorry that you and your family lost Oliver.  =(  I hope that all of the happy memories will bring you peace and comfort.

I do think it's a good idea to put Taz in the spare room.  It'll give him more space to call his own.  And, I'll bet he'll be happy to have a window that he can look out of.

Sending you positive vibes and hugs your way.

ZQ

[Piparskeggr]

Never easy when you've given them a good, long life.

Looks like you have some good ideas already.

As for a buddy, might try an older kitty, who is known to be good with other cats.  An older kitty is a known quantity, their personalities are pretty well set.

Though, as Miss Teia has shown, they are still very adaptable to new circumstances.