My husband gets ready for work around 4:30 each morning so he dresses in the spare bedroom. This is the room that Hobbes knows has something in it and he's determined to find it. Or perhaps Hobbes keeps the communicator to the mothership under the bed because he makes a beeline under the bed whenever he gets a chance.

This morning was no different from any other morning. My husband got up, played with Hobbes got dressed and because he was running late he left me to get Hobbes out from under the bed and the door closed. Hobbes isn't allowed to spend the day alone in this room because it's not totally cat-proofed. It was 5:30 and I thought, well, I'll give the two cats another encounter since I have some time. I opened the door to the master bedroom and Hobbes came to the door to see if 'She' was still here. Sure enough, there she was so he hissed twice and turned around and went back to the bedroom and under the bed.

I don't know what I was doing but I turned my back for only a minute and she was out the door. Since the door to the spare bedroom was open she went in to check things out. I followed her just in time to see her go under the bed with Hobbes! Now she didn't know he was under there and the minute she got under he hissed and she froze. I didn't have any water and I didn't want to dive under the bed to separate two scared cats. I'm desperately promising Hobbes that I'm not going to let her take over his private spot, promising her that I'll get her out of there unscathed and thinking to myself that whoever comes out from under the bed alive is the one we'll keep. I decided the best I could do is lift the comforter from the foot of the bed so that she can back out without turning her back on Hobbes. I guess when I did she turned her head and he shot out from under the bed and ran into the living room. She apparently followed right behind him although I didn't see her, but when I looked under the bed I couldn't find a cat. I didn't see the communicator either so Hobbes must have taken a moment to stash it again.

I followed them into the livingroom and watched as they began the circling game again. They circled around some furniture and she jumped up onto the hearth to get some water. When she did he sniffed her tail and lightly batted it with his paw. She turned around and hissed. I guess she hasn't forgiven him for biting her lovely tail last night. She decided to explore the dining room and he went into the kitchen so I knelt down to pet him, which he allowed, as she watched. I was getting a cup of coffee when I turned in time to see her come into the kitchen, walk past him and turn to look at him. The touched noses and then she kept on going. They touched noses! They didn't hiss, they didn't spit or growl. They touched noses.

We went back into the living room and I watched for 30 minutes as they seemed to get to know one another. They got close to each other, they passed each other and they chased each other. He seems to want to play but she's still a little bit frightened of him. She swatted his ears twice when he got too close and I figured she deserved to be mad at him for biting her tail. But after she swatted him the second time I told him to hit back, not to take it from her. Of course he didn't understand that and he just looked at me as if to say, "What'd I do? and Look how she's treating me! Mom! She's looking at me again!" She found a mousey and again began playing and he watched her from a little distance. I decided to let them alone while I took a shower. I took a really fast shower and hurried back into the living room. She was sitting on the loveseat and he was on the floor looking up at her. I went back to the bedroom and got dressed. I came back out and checked on them. They were circling again and occasionally she was hissing with her ears back. Since it was time for me to leave for work anyhow, I got her and returned her to the bedroom for an enforced time-out. I snuggled her, I snuggled him, I left the house.

I suspect they'll spend the day on each side of the door crying to each other. My husband is going home from work early today so hopefully he'll let her out and give them some more time together. When I get home they'll have the entire evening to play. I'm definitely encouraged. I was prepared to give this process several weeks and although I realize I can't leave them alone together yet they have certainly come a long way since Saturday afternoon.

And yes, she still is unnamed.

Copyright © Julie Cook
August 23, 1999