When I joined my family I was a puppy and mom already had two cats and Zoey (I miss her). So I grew up with cats who were not afraid of dogs and I was a good boy with them. When mom adopted Jackson and Lucca she was not aware that Lucca was afraid of dogs, it had been buried in the paperwork. Mom came up with a solution for Lucca to have a safe space in sissy’s room. He spent pretty much all of his time in there (he loved sitting in the window and snuggling with sissy). Mom kept a baby gate in the door so the other cats (and Lucca if he chose) could move about the house freely. I respected the baby gate even though I could easily jump it.
It took almost two years, but the baby gate could finally come down and Lucca is no longer afraid of me (I mean I am not his favorite, but …). Lucca still likes his boundaries though. He likes to eat his meals on the back of the couch away from everybody. I like to slink around and wait (most of the time) for him to be done so I can clean his bowl.
Jackson on the other hand loved me from the start. It took me a long time to get used to him nuzzling me…I didn’t know what to do with that at first. I like chasing him down the stairs in the morning, it has become a bit of a ritual with us. Sometimes Jackson and I like to vie for mom’s lap.
