A New Era (Maybe)

Hugo gets a belly rub; Ray snoozes

Last week, while I was home to supervise, Ray was allowed upstairs quite often. Hugo, being by nature an extremely curious cat, just couldn't stand not knowing what that dog was up to. As Ray would wander into a bedroom, Hugo would follow at a discreet distance. When Ray would try to exit the bedroom, Hugo would stand in the doorway and hiss. Ray, who is terrified of Hugo, would turn around and try to make himself invisible, or would stand still and whine, or would gently wag his tail while his eyebrows did the forehead dance trying to convince the cat to come play. With one eye cocked towards the dog, Hugo would turn slowly and retreat to a safe distance or to the cat room.

By the end of the week, Hugo had gained some confidence. He didn't always sit on the stair landing, sometimes he came down the stairs to sit a couple of steps up from the gate, just out of Ray's reach. When Ray would try to stick his head through the cat escape hatch, Hugo would hiss and spit and Ray would retreat.

On Sunday, Gregg and I walked Ray to the grocery store before breakfast. When we returned home, Ray curled up on the couch next to me and sacked out. I sat eating breakfast and reading the paper. I could see Hugo pacing in the hallway and called to him. Ray didn't move. Hugo came into the living room and settled on the arm of the couch on the other of side of me, away from the dog. He stepped on to my lap and flopped over for a belly rub. We took photos to commemorate the great event.