Thursday, June 23, 2005

Time out

Dinah slept in the basement Monday and Tuesday. Not that she chose to sleep in the basement, but that she was banished to the basement.

Things would seem to be going along okay, but once it got close to bedtime, she would start to freak out. Both nights I had gone up to the bedroom to change my clothes, and it's kind of become a tradition to lie down on the bed and she jumps up and gets some cuddle time and usually Bob will lie down, too, and she'll sit on my chest for awhile, then his, and it's very funny, actually. I sing to her.

But the last few nights, if Pyewacket walks in the room, Dinah starts growling, and if we don't immediately get up and separate them, they'll fight. Dinah's always a little weird, but for the most part everything's fine everywhere else in the house, but she doesn't seem to want Pyewacket to come into the bedroom.

Last night it happened, and Bob grabbed Pyewacket and went into the office with her, and I picked Dinah up, took her downstairs and deposited her in the basement. She sat right on the other side of the door, crying and scratching, and Bob and Pyewacket came down and played with her through the door.


Bob was shoving her wire toy through the door and moving it around, and she was grabbing it on the other side.

After awhile, after she'd had a chance to calm down, we let her out, and she was fine. We decided to shut them both out of the bedroom over night and see what happened, and everything seemed to be fine, although Pyewacket spent most of the night in the hall, I think, not understanding why she couldn't come in the bedroom.

I'm taking Pye in to the vet on Saturday for her regular check-up, so I'll talk to him about the rest of the situation, too, I guess.

Bob thinks Dinah's mentally ill, and she certainly could be, I guess. She has quite an attachment to me, as Pyewacket does to Bob. She doesn't like it when I'm out after dark, and if I go out for a walk in the evening, Bob says she spends the whole time I'm gone howling and crying, and pacing in front of the window. I remember the time when Pyewacket seemed to be trying to intimidate me into letting her have Bob all to herself, and maybe this is something like that, although I suppose we're attributing them with more motivation than is probably realistic.

When I was taking the picture off the memory card, I saw a bunch of pictures of the back yard that I had never posted, I don't think. My green, lush jungle of a backyard:


And the ash tree I grew from a seed:


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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow - impressive tree, from a seed you planted. It's amazing how trees grow when we aren't looking, for years and years.

Willa said...

It's pretty humbling to see a tree that's now taller than our house, and remember when it was a tiny seedling in a cup. It *is* amazing. :)

Anonymous said...

Those who study these things scientifically say dogs and cats have about the same level of cognitive ability (and vocabulary understanding) of a four year old human child. That's pretty good, so it's no wonder we see behavior in them that seems human.

When I learned this my kitties were young and I took to talking to them as I would to a small child, explaining things to them and asking them how they feel about things. I tell them when I'm going somewhere and when I expect to be back, and when they get into it with each other I ask them what's going on in yes/no questions (they will meow for yes, remain silent for no). I've often been able to sort out situations and gain insight into their relationships with each other this way.

I also tell them what I expect of them in terms of behavior, and why. Like kids, they are mostly compliant and occasionally willfully naughty! :-)