Chloe and Mama

Chloe has been a bit neglected since Flynn joined our lives. In the beginning, I had visions of one or both of them getting hurt by the other, since Chloe is such a strange cat anyway and has never been around a dog, and Flynn is so much like a bull in a china shop sometimes. So for the first few months he was with us, Flynn had the run of the downstairs and Chloe was delegated to the upstairs. I felt badly about this arrangement, but didn't know what else to do. Chloe would come down the stairs in the evenings after I got home from work and peer at me through the baby gate. I took the gate down a few times when Flynn was on his bed, but it was with much trepidation and as soon as he turned his head toward her or tried to get up, I was right there putting the gate back up. I could just see her clawing his one good eye or him stepping on her or heaven forbid, biting her. A trip to the vet was definitely not what we needed.

After more time had passed, I got the idea of putting Flynn on his bed, away from the stairs and once he was asleep, I took down the baby gate. Chloe would creep down the stairs and cautiously explore the dining room and kitchen, all the while keeping a lookout for trouble. I could almost see the wheels turning in her mind, "Hey, this is MY house. I remember this place. I just haven't been here in forever!" Poor Chloe. It was to my joy that I discovered that Chloe really wasn't that afraid of Flynn (as long as he is lying down and as long as he is not wearing his cone--once the cone is on, forget it) and Flynn could really care less about her. Maybe it is because of his advanced age, but now he'll be on his bed and she'll walk within inches of him and he won't even lift his head. I am so happy!

She still doesn't get the attention she used to get, but that is largely due to my work hours leaving very little time for much else in the evenings besides cooking and eating dinner. And now sometimes, while we catch a little t.v. before bed, she'll come downstairs and jump up on my lap for awhile. Just like the old days.