The Cat obsession

I’ve mentioned Spencer’s interest in cats before. He’s never gotten completely close to one yet, but based on his body language and progress, we’re pretty sure that if he could get close to a cooperative cat, he’d just be curious and want to play with it. The problem is when the cat is hostile (often triggering tension that can bubble over into aggression) or runs away (triggering his instinct to chase) or is inaccessible behind a fence (which can lead to frustration building up and bubbling over). We’ve noticed the same thing with the hedgehog. When he catches it, he just plays with it or tries to store it in his crate like a treasure. When it’s on the other side of the fence, he gets frustrated and goes into a non-stop barking spree.

Houses Where Cats Live

Spencer knows every garden/yard where we’ve seen a cat for at least the past six months, and every time we go by one of these places, he sticks his nose in the fence to see if there is a cat there. Or rather, I should say that he does so more insistently in those places, because he also glances into other yards, because you just never know.