Trig and Ramen

A friend of ours was going back to the US for 2 and a half weeks, so we volunteered to watch his 9 month old male cat Ramen. The only experience Trig really has around cats is with Stuart's cat Kitty, and that experience was pretty limited, so I was excited for him to spend a decent amount of time with one to learn how to behave around it.

The first two days, Ramen was noticeably nervous, this being his first experience with a dog I think, so he mostly hid around the house. He was an expert hider, and there were several times when I honestly couldn't find him. So, I'd just leave out some food and hope he was ok.



If I can't see you, you can't see me....


The next phase of their relationship was the stare down phase. Ramen would place himself in a corner or a doorway, and Trig would walk as close as he dared, then they'd stare at each other endlessly. Eventually the distance between would shrink. We also figured out that if we were holding Ramen in our arms or he was up on the couch with us, he felt much safer and thereby allowed Trig to get much closer as well. Still no contact though.

I'm not really sure what broke the ice, but eventually they became friends. It might have actually been Ramen. He would sit on our kitchen chair and swipe at Trig's tail through the bars. At first it was just smelling and nudges, but eventually it became full out playing. Trig would push the cat to the ground with a paw, then Ramen would roll onto his back and playfully paw at him. Eventually one or the other would go to far and they would separate, but they never hurt each other. It was really cute to watch. 

Ramen found a grocery bag and crawled inside to hang out. Trig was utterly confused, so he came over to investigate. I don't think Trig ever understood Ramen's motives. 

The day Ramen left, we put Trig in the kennel and went on a 6 day trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia, which I will write about in the coming posts. The day Trig got back from the kennel, the first thing he did was run around the house and search for Ramen, but to no avail. :( Friends for life!