Brave New World (or leaving the bedroom door open)

cyto_girl

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I just need some sympathy, and so do our cats right now, one because she's confused and one because she's scared. Here's the story, so far. We have 2 cats, Chip and CoCo. They are the same age but we've had Chip a little longer than CoCo. Chip is naturally inquisitive and CoCo is naturally jumpy but VERY laid back and never one to hiss. When Chip was a mere kitten, and before we brought CoCo home, we would leave the door to our bedroom open, so Chip is naturally more familiar with the room. But since we've gotten CoCo (going on a year now), we always have the bedroom door closed and they didn't ever go in there. Well, today, we decided to leave the bedroom door open because they were tearing up the carpet under the door at night wanting to be with us. Chip had no problem with it. She's been in and out of the bedroom all day, sleeping under the covers, looking out the window, sniffing at the vaccuum in the corner. CoCo, on ther other hand, is having issues with it. When we first opened it up this morning, CoCo stuck her head in and then ran away. Typical CoCo. She stuck her head in again when my husband laid down a treat for her, but ran away without the treat, poor thing but again typical CoCo. New rooms are apparently too much for her right now because about lunch time Chip walked toward CoCo and CoCo went mad and hissed and growled at Chip like a crazy cat. It sounds wierd but I almost feel CoCo saw Chip walking out the the bedroom and thought she was a stranger cat coming from a strange unfamiliar world. This happened a couple more times, she even hissed at me (but not my husband). And then she retreated to her hiding spot under the guest bathroom sink (which we leave cleaned out just for her safety). She's been under there for about 5 hours now. The poor little thing. And Chip went crazy trying to figure out what was wrong earlier. She cried out for a few minutes and even started panting with excitement trying to find her sister and figure out why she was acting so upset. I've never heard Chip be so concerned for CoCo, it was sweet. As I type this, we can hear the cabinet door squeaking open. CoCo's walking around the living room now, seems to be a little calm... oh ...wait....nope, nevermind....Chip walked up to her and CoCo hissed again...and Chip is crying again. But you know cats people, we'll let her go at her own pace, we'll close the door probably so she can relax and try again later.
 
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cyto_girl

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Yup, no pressure. It was just so wierd to see her act like that because she's usually never vocal like that. She's out of the cabinet now but she'll still hiss at Chip when she gets too close. I'll wager in a week she'll be in the bedroom rolling all over the bed like it all never happened.
Love me kitties!
 

natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by mamacat

how do I get her to let me sleep???"
LOL you've got that right. Abby has taken to sitting beside the bed or on the bed next to me staring at me and purring like a jumbo jet until I wake up, LMAO Once I'm awake and she's had a grand total of about 60 seconds worth of pets, she leaves and goes to sleep in the living room. By then I'm totally awake
 
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cyto_girl

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Actually I'm already starting to consider solutions in that area because I know when we let Chip in the room last year, she had a habit of waking me up at 2 or 3 a.m. ready to play but that's just because we didn't let her come in enough to know that it's time to sleep. She'll get behind the headboard which is just a metal frame kind of deal and she'll start swatting at my hair through the frame. And CoCo loves pouncing on the blanket when it's out here in the living room. This is good practice for children.
 

natalie_ca

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The best solution is to keep them awake in the daytime one day and get them on the same sleep schedule as you are on.

And don't play with them right before bed, that gets them going. A late night snack for them also helps. And don't play with them when you are in bed. Keep that as a quiet time... pets and cuddles, but no rough housing otherwise they will think that it's ok to jump all over you in the night when you are in bed.
 
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cyto_girl

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Chip was actually pretty quiet last night. I think she slept under the bed mostly. Guess she's all grown up now and doesn't do the crazy kitten bit as much. I know one time I woke up and she was sitting on the foot of the bed staring at us.
And then she only swatted at my hair once around 5. This morning she went to sniff at CoCo and CoCo seemed a little calmer, didn't hiss but her ears went back a little. I love it! Who needs a TV when I've got Days of Our Lives and Everybody Loves Chip at home!
 
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