There seems to be lots going on in Kittydom.  I’ll give a little rundown here.

Natasha:  She’s being a little clingy at night but normal during the day. She’s been grumpy with the other cats — I’m not sure if she’s grumpier than usual or what.

Ajax:  He’s been clingy, too.  With the parlor door closed for much of the day to allow Lady to be out and not harass Rossie upstairs, he spends a lot of time asking to go in and out between the two spaces.  He has been taking up residence in Lady’s cage when she’s out.

Lady:  Lady is doing okay with being in the cage in the evening and at night.  By allowing her the run of the kitchen and parlor during the day, she gets relative freedom while still protecting Rossie from her.  She’s alert when Rossie comes through at night to eat.  Her behavior has been mixed between definite interest and an intense stare down with Rossie to include a swipe at the cage when Rossie departs the area.  We have a long way to go, I think.

Tarzan:  He must have played a little rough with somebody this week.  He has a scratch above his left eye.  It seems to be healing, but I’m keeping an eye on it. Other than that, he spends time in Lady’s cage when she’s not in there.  (Lady and Tarzan were born in this cage and spent some of their early kittenhood here, so it’s not a terrible thing for them.)

Pretty Boy Floyd:  He lays down to play with Daphne.  He also takes up residence in Lady’s cage when she’s not in it.  Yes, Lady’s cage is a popular place for all the cats to spend time.  Food seems to taste better in there.

Delta:  Delta is spending more time downstairs.  She’s joined the parade of “in and outers” who come in and go out the parlor door throughout the day.  Now that Lady isn’t on the bed at night, Delta is spending more time there.  She’s almost always pressed against my legs.

Ruby:  With Lady in the cage, Ruby is more willing to spend time downstairs in the evening playing with toys, laying around, or playing with the other cats.  I also discover Ruby sleeping with me some nights. She’s becoming more approachable and sociable.  It’s still very hit or miss whether we can approach her or not, but she does love to be petted and scratched under the chin when she lets us do it.

Rossie:  The process is very slow, but we’re seeing more of Rossie downstairs in the late evening this week.  She dashes through the parlor to eat in the kitchen.  She will sit in the parlor before dashing by Lady’s cage to go back upstairs when she’d done eating.  Early in the week, she was hiding under chairs in the parlor.  Throughout the week she’s been moving to more open positions.  We exchange slow blinks (supposedly this is a non-threatening and reassuring expression with cats, and Rossie always returns my slow blinks with a similar move).  Mr. L and I have both noticed Rossie out and about more upstairs.  Mr. L says she’s been racing around in the morning.  We wanted to see Rossie out more, and we are seeing that.  Now, we hope for that to continue and for Rossie to be more willing to be approached. She, too, likes to be petted, but she’s so nervous about being approached.  She will allow Mr. L to, but she’s not interested in allowing me near her.

Daphne:  She’s a very confident kitten.  The older cats play with her and tolerate her well, but they also discipline her when she goes over the line.  Well, except for Natasha.  She understands Natasha isn’t interested in her and ignores Natasha.  She and Lady are hit and miss, but she’s generally not afraid of Lady.

Sneaky:  Sneaky is doing very well. She seems to take the cold weather in stride.

I think I’ve found a balance between allowing Lady some freedom and protecting Rossie from her aggressiveness.  I’m hoping to see Rossie gain more confidence as she realizes Lady can’t get to her, and, as a result, Lady’s aggressive behavior should lessen.  I fear this is going to be a very slow process, though.