Cat-astrophe Update (Get it?)

My apologies for not writing. Believe me, I come up with things to write about all the time, but getting them down on the computer takes energy I don't have. Pretty much everyone should know by now, but I am 19 weeks pregnant. I am still so tired! My nausea is mostly gone, but the fatigue hasn't gone away. Also I've just self-diagnosed an acid reflux problem that I've had this entire time. Yes, it took me this long. And yes, I had it all through my first pregnancy. Maybe I don't complain as much as I think?? Anyway, it's gotten so bad at night lately that I did a little searching and came up with an answer. Tums seems to help a bit...but I have an u/s and appointment next week so maybe I can get some better advice then. I am thrilled to be pregnant and excited to meet this little baby, but I'm definitely not 'enjoying' it and I really miss having normal levels of energy and enthusiasm throughout each day. Playgroup has been a saving grace...and really anything that distracts me and keeps me awake is helpful. ;-)

So now for an update on the cats. Basically what we have is a problem with "redirected aggression" (here's a link, info is at the bottom). It's not imaginary. The cats are now able to eat side by side on opposite sides of our door without much of a problem. They can see each other through a baby gate as long as they are not close enough to smell each other. Once they sniff, Jackie starts to hiss and Ben gets pissed off about it. APY is amazing with cats and really should be some sort of cat psychologist. He gets them together in the same room and pets them and talks to them in a gentle manner. They can last anywhere from 5-15 minutes until Jackie gets upset. Then Ben gets defensive (and maybe his feelings are hurt, poor guy) and we separate them quickly. It is so sad.


They are definitely a little depressed. Ben misses his playmate and Jackie doesn't have much interaction with anyone because she's locked up in our room all day. We do what we can. But switching rooms all the time and making sure both cats have access to food, water and litter is a little taxing. Especially when they want switched in the middle of the night. Now that is just plain ANNOYING. We are hoping that this little bit of progress, as s-l-o-w as it has been, will continue and eventually they will be able to live in the same space. Because frankly, we can not live with an enormous litter box in our bathtub forever. Looks like we've got some baby gates in our future.


Here's an old picture of Ben and Jackie when they were in love.