This will probably be my last update regarding the peace process between my indoor dog, Willy, and my new cat, Oliver. By the picture above, you can obviously tell that they've become quite comfortable with one another.
To think that the first time they saw each other, Willy's nature was to tear after Oliver, and Oliver's nature was to tear Willy's face off. Now, when Willy comes out of the bedroom, Oliver races up to meet him, even greeting him by rubbing up against him the same way he does to a person.
They still need to be supervised a bit, as their play can get a little out of hand, but I've been able to sit and watch a movie or have my lunch with the two of them in the same room without having to constantly pull them apart. (Maybe just once or twice.) Eventually, they're able to just lie down near one another and just chill.
While this wasn't the goal, I think that getting Oliver has been good for Willy. It gives him somebody to play with, and likewise, that's good for Oliver. It's definitely a different dynamic than with Willy and Tyson, my female cat of 18 years whom I had to put down a few months ago. Oliver, instead of running away when Willy is being too aggressive, will turn around and slap him all about the face. He'll even leap up at the dog with a right-hook. Thankfully, the claws aren't out though, as I'm sure Willy'd be pretty bloody by now.
Seems to me that once a cat accepts the idea of a dog, the idea of dogs in general becomes okay. I brought Argos in the other day, and Oliver and he had a nice little greeting. Ollie wasn't ready to rub up against him, but he wasn't afraid of him. This might also be because Ollie will sit up on the windowsill while Argos peers in at him.
Of course, if the affections between Willy and Ollie get out of hand, I will have to inform them that they're going to hell. Not only is this interspecies fraternization unnatural, but they're both boys. Neutered boys at that. Why must all my pets be sinners?
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