Cat report

Another altercation in my bathroom. This time, early on Saturday morning, while I was sound asleep. Got up and dumped a glass of water on Bootsy. Then he tried to "make nice" with me and I totally ignored him. I'm not amused. He gets no positive reinforcement from me (and will get none for a while).

Now I'm thinking--this is the only place in the apartment where Bootsy can really corner Lucky. So this morning I got up and removed all stored kitchen items from the floor, closed the lid on the toilet (I'd left it open for Lucky's amusement), and cleared off the top of the tank. Now Lucky has two more surfaces on which to jump up. (I'd already cleared the top of the vanity where the sink is.)

(Maybe I'll close off the bathroom entirely and put Lucky's cat box somewhere else. Just a thought.)

From now on, Lucky will go to bed with me at night and the door will be closed to keep Bootsy out. Update (Sunday): Rather than do that, I'll try closing the bathroom door at night before I go to bed. If Lucky needs to use the cat box, he knows where the other ones are (and uses them, too). And he won't be cornered by Bootsy.

These altercations are mostly a lot of noise--neither cat has front claws. Nasty as these spats sound, Lucky recovers quickly. I'm a little less resilient and forgiving. (I'm the adult in the house.)

In sum, Lucky's been here a week now and appears to be happy, despite Bootsy's hostility (which was to be expected). He and I have bonded nicely. I don't expect (and never really expected) any great friendship to develop between Bootsy and Lucky. But maybe Bootsy's heart will soften a little. Bootsy's had a complicated life. I don't even know all the ins and outs of it. B. ultimately abandoned him here to shack up with the security guard, and then Lucy died. So I do have a lot of compassion, and Bootsy is essentially a loving cat. At least he loves me and shows it. And I do love him too, and he knows it. We've been together for five years.