Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Yoko and The Boy

I'm totally surprised at how well Yoko has been dealing with the introduction of a new baby in the house. I would think that a large majority of cats would freak out in some way or another, but she's really accepted it with ease.

The first couple of days, when we decided to lock her out of our bedroom, you could tell she was a bit peeved and confused. But luckily, I had my Mom staying with us, so Yoko just warmed up to her during that time instead.

Then after testing the waters a bit with a slow introduction of the baby, it only took a short time for her to act like she didn't even notice he was there. To the point of wanting to come up on my lap and almost walking right across his face.

When we realized that there was going to be no issues (other than a bit of jealousy and demand for attention from us), we allowed her to come back into the bedroom again. The baby sleeps in a bassinette, and knowing that she wouldn't be interested in going in there to harm the baby, she was welcome to sleep with us again.

Now there's always a fight for a position on my lap instead. Most of the time the baby wins, as I'm usually in the middle of a feeding. She does occasionally score the spot if the baby is having Daddy time though.

The crazy thing is, is that she's really shown respect for the fact that he's here now. After a couple of weeks of just ignoring his presence, she has now really warmed up to him. She wants to cuddle with him just like she wants to cuddle with us. Wrapping her arms around him and falling asleep with her chin down on his lap, and even giving big slurpy kisses on his head! 

Doug and I are still very cautious of her, of course, because she has big whopping claws that could accidentally slip at any time - so the two are never alone together in the same room. But, it's not uncommon to see the four of us cuddled on the couch watching a movie together (usually with both baby and cat in my lap).

Yoko really is the best cat anyone could ever ask for. She may not be great with the kittens, but she knows that this little man is here to stay.

The only thing that she probably doesn't like, is when it's time for a feeding and the screaming commences..... then she's no where to be seen. ;)