No cats in the bedroom....

Sadie has been moved from our bedroom to the living room which has been blocked off from Sassy with a really tall pet gate.  Luckily, Sassy isn't much of a jumper.  Yesterday afternoon I discovered that Sadie had both pooped and peed on our bed (and I just had the spread and mattress cover washed).  I know it's because Sassy would not let her get to the litter box, Sadie has been really good about using it.  Sadie had to go from the bedroom, down the hall, and into my craft room to use the litter box.  Sassy sits in the hallway and watches Sadie who spends most of her time under the bed.  I don't know why I didn't think of the living room before.  After the construction ended, the living room was pretty much cleaned out and we've never had much furniture in it.  My husband used it for his computer and photo work but he's moved that to the basement.  Now we just store boxes and furniture that's due for the garage sale in early June.  Eventually, we will buy a love seat and small chair for this room but for now, it's open and airy and has a window.  The plus part is the cats can see each other but can't get to each other.  Sassy is clearly the alpha female and I don't think Sadie will  jump the fence only to run into her.  I will go in a couple of times a day and play with Sadie and she can clearly see us coming and going which will make her more a part of the family than living under our bed.    It's obvious now we aren't going to hurry up this process so we might as well make everyone comfortable.  Maybe in a few days I can move the gate (after closing all the doors in the house) and play with both of them in the living room and see how that goes.  I'll also offer treats at the gate on both sides.  I did that last night and Sassy ate hers but Sadie did not.  I'll know I'm making progress when Sadie approaches the gate to eat goodies.  I'm still excited about Sassy having a companion but I'm not sure anymore that Sadie is the right one for her.  We leave for vacation in 30 days and while watching Sadie through the fence will be entertaining for Sassy while we're gone, it wasn't exactly what I had in mind.

While the spread and mattress cover have made their trip to the cleaners (again!) I have the white feather duvet on the bed - the one that Sassy pooped on just a few weeks ago.  So, the door to the bedroom is closed to cats.  Sassy wasn't a bed cat, anyway, she spent very little time on our bed.  Sadie liked to be on the bed when she wasn't under it. 

Well, I'm off to trim the old wood on the honeysuckle in the side yard.  I should have done it last year, it just looks unkempt now.  There is new honeysuckle coming up under the brush but it won't survive if we don't clear out the shade.