We Are Beginning To Win...

A little over 3 months ago a lady Mary works with mentioned that her mother was going into a nursing home and was looking for a new home for her cat. We made the decision to bring her in and we're glad we did. We named her Chubs and she and our old cat Allie did not get along well at all for the first 6 weeks. Then it seemed they would tolerate each other at best. Three weeks ago we made the decision to add a dog to the family. After a brief search, we found the dog we were looking for through a local shelter so "Gracie" enters the scene. Our empty nest has been interesting the last 3 weeks. The good news - the cats have bonded in a show of solidarity. The bad news - the cats just don't understand 7 month old Gracie's desire to "play." They became so stressed and afraid to make their way to the litter boxes in the laundry room that we had to move the boxes from the laundry room to the master bath; not something we wanted to do but needed to do so the cats could feel safe. That was a temporary fix and 1 of the cats (not sure which one since we didn't do any lab testing) decided to drop two poops on our bedroom floor. That was the moment of truth...the beginning of the animals vs. us - a battle of wits. Mary and I had a meeting of the minds while the animals were sleeping. A plan has been put into motion. Some recent weapons of warfare are working. Please note the new cat door to the laundry room. This gives the cats an escape from the dog when necessary and puts them back into an environment where they had become accustomed to pooping. But that's not the best part of the recent laundry room additions. Please note the new automatic cat poop scooper; one of those inventions that make you wonder "why didn't I think of that?" As Mary and I have begun to reclaim our master bedroom we are noticing the cats encouraging each other to wander back downstairs again; an area of the the house they used to enjoy. (Note picture) Meanwhile, we wanted to get an Invisible Fence (Please note picture) to give Gracie more freedom in the yard and give us more freedom too. We now watch the Dog Whisperer religiously and Caesar is constantly reminding us of the importance of exercising the dogs. We got 3 estimates at an average of $900 installed. Ouch! Not to be outdone, Mary gave me a motivational speech that included her saying "I will crawl around the yard on my hands and knees if it means saving $700." We purchased an underground containment system at Pet Smart for $220 and spent last Friday & Saturday installing it ourselves. I dug the trench with my electric edger/trencher as well as an ax/pick while Mary lived up to her commitment by crawling around the yard for 2 hours on Saturday burying the wire. (That's my kind of woman) I made the electrical connections and presto - instant containment! We have a "perimeter" around our house (along with aching bodies) Weapon # 3 is in place and after 3 days of training, it is working beautifully. Also in the last 3 weeks, we have trained Gracie to more easily enter her crate at night which is in my office and for the last 5 nights, she hasn't whined at all after going to bed. We are winning for now but I can see their little minds churning all the time; trying to get a step ahead of us but we are determined. Chubs & Allie are beginning to hold their ground against a playful Gracie and Gracie is learning to hold her ground in her new "perimeter". We are holding our ground and we are winning, for now.