Territory and lots of water
The menagerie teaches its own what's important in this life
WE’RE STILL facing problems introducing new cat Phantom into our household, but the disagreements between all the cats seem to have lessened, and our adjustments have even helped my poodle-pup Wan-Wan.
Wild child Manohra no longer tries to attack Phantom. Perhaps she realises that Phantom, an eight-kilo hulk, will win any fight, or maybe the weather has been just too hot for any aggression.
It would be better if Phantom were a girl. With cats, it’s much easier to integrate a female into a group than a male. Of course, personality plays a part, but even a gentle male would still cause adjustment problems, especially with other males and aggressive females like Manohra.
Dogs are so different. Being pack animals, new members quickly assess who the top dog is and how far they can go in dominating the rest of the pack. If you bring non-aggressive dog into your canine pack, you should have fewer problems with introductions.
If the new dog has an anxious personality, you need to make introductions more slowly. If it’s a puppy, you have to be especially careful. Perhaps its mama had no opportunity to teach it how to behave with other dogs, and your own dogs would not be as forgiving as its own mother.
Cats are more interested in defending their territory than in figuring out who the top cat is. Phantom is old and suffering from arthritis, but he’s capable of going anywhere he wants, except for bookcases and refrigerators.
Slowly, all the cats are re-working their territory. These adjustments involve making room not only for Phantom but also for each other. For example, since Yoyo has now claimed Angel’s territory, she has had to find another area where she can sleep.
When Phantom first joined us, I opened up another kitty litter tray, just to keep the cats from fighting over toilet facilities. To my surprise, there have been no problems.
Phantom, however, has pointed out one area of conflict I had never considered.
He’s claimed a water bowl. I’ve put out water on every floor, but for some reason, he’s chosen the bowl near the refrigerator. Instead of leaning over to drink, he lies down, wraps his arms around the bowl and drinks as he rests.
In the morning, every water bowl is nearly empty. The new bowl of water I’ve just put out is empty too.
I am reminded how important it is to provide enough drinking water in another, much more worrying way.
X-rays and an ultrasound show that my dog is not suffering from bladder stones as we first thought. She has a kidney stone, just one.
It’s really small, the vet tells me, and doesn’t need to be removed yet, but we have to check every few months just to make sure the stone doesn’t grow larger or is suddenly joined by other stones.
How did she get that stone? We don’t know. It could be from her food, which may contain ingredients that encourage the production of the stones. It could be from her living conditions. Perhaps she’s not exercising enough.
It may also be the result of not drinking enough water. I’ve noticed that the cats drink much more often than she does, but up to now, I wasn’t worried. She eats only tinned food, which already has lots of water in it.
Now I wonder if that water is enough.
At least, thanks to the disturbances in the household, I have the chance to improve the situation, putting out water bowls all over the place. Now, does anyone have a workout treadmill for a small dog and her somewhat heavier owner?
