rapprochement, of sorts

The cats spent a few days on opposite sides of a door. They were both very curious about what was going on on the other cat's side. Several times on Friday, I carried Theo into Koa's area and held on to him as she rushed up, sniffed his face, and ran away. Finally, on Friday night, we opened the door and allowed them full access to the house and to each other.

Koa is still sore but seems to be improving. She also continues to be annoyed at Theo whenever he moves toward her. He is doing his best to be respectful -- one glare from her is often all it takes to get him to turn tail. Unfortunately, he continues to be oblivious and playful, and he has occasionally given chase.

Koa continues to stand her ground. She hisses. She growls. And she makes a sound not unlike a theremin. But she is so non-aggressive that she does not take the next step, which is to run after Theo. Theo finds all this terribly unsettling. He seems to convey that he knows he's done something wrong, but he has no idea what.

They clearly have to work something out on their own; there are plenty of hours when we're not around to act as referee. So all we can do is make them both feel safe and loved when we are around and provide an occasional distraction. Theo is particularly good at the "look! shiny!" sleight-of-hand. And really, all he wants to do is play and chase, which may be what got both of them into trouble in the first place.

The good news is that yesterday, they were both sleeping on the bed, Koa in her basket and Theo in his tent. She awoke first, stretched, and licked Theo's face for a bit. That tells me that she doesn't permanently hate him, she just wants her space right now. Onward.