Will my cat leave home?

The whole family is delighted with the arrival of Dylan. All except one.

My cat Sophie is a little put out about the new house guest. She's been here for ten years (which makes her an old lady in cat years who's probably not keen on 'embracing change'!) And she's not adjusting very well to another addition to the family. Not only is Daisy now fully mobile and wanting to 'love' the cat at every opportunity, but any attention we have is given to Dylan.

Sophie has taken to looking at me with those accusing eyes. Keeping in the background. Waiting til everyone is asleep, then creeping up for a bit of a hug ("You do still love me, don't you mum?"). Trouble is that I only have so much to give. My body is still healing, and my focus is still on the kids (and to be honest, that's not going to change).

Before Dylan and Daisy arrived, Sophie was our little 'baby'. She had little habits that were endlessly endearing to her doting owners. I used to wake up to her purring in my ear. She'd do that 'paddy paws' thing on my tummy when I stroked her. She'd call for me at night when she came through the cat flap.

Now all these things are just annoying.

I'm sleep deprived, so don't need any sort of purring alarm clock settling on my pillow. I have children sleeping in various rooms, so don't need anyone calling 'honey I'm home" at the top of their voice when they get through the door. And if I wanted a cat trampling up and down my caesarian scar, opening up the stitches, I'd ask for one.

My hubby and I talked about it the other day and we reckon that - at this stage - it might take us about three days to notice if Sophie left home. That's not good. After all Soph was here before the kids and she's been a loving companion. I feel guilty. 

So here's how I'm tackling it. Every day we give her some time with just us - she's after attention, so we make sure she still knows she's loved. We've bought new cat nip toys to keep her distracted so she can play by herself. And we've created a new space for her, away from toddler grabbing hands. At the moment it's behind some boxes under the desk, so I don't think that Daisy even knows where it is.

Pets are fantastic stress reducers. Stroking a cat lowers your blood pressure. Walking a dog helps boost your natural endorphines. Watching fish relaxes you. So she's helped me in the past. Fingers crossed that these things work in return until we achieve a new level of normality in this mad house!