Off the Leash

Igor has made a lot of progress over the past week. As I mentioned last week, we began taking him for “walks” using a harness and leash. The first few days he was terrified and spent most of the time trying to bolt back into the office. He finally started to relax a little bit, so a few days ago we graduated from the leash.

We now leave the office door open when we’re working at the front barn and Igor explores on his own. He spends much of the time sitting right at the office door and observing the world. Over the last couple of days Igor has begun exploring the barn and even making brief trips outside the barn. He loves to pounce on little bugs in the shavings. When we’re not at the barn we shut him in the office.

Igor had his first encounter with Ewen and quickly established that he was going to be the boss of Ewen. As Ewen cautiously approached, Igor stood his ground, pinned his ears, and growled. Ewen slowly stretched and put his nose close to Igor. Igor immediately slapped Ewen on the nose and Ewen retreated. Igor seems to be a very smart cat so far and he is starting to enjoy his explorations of the outside world although the office is definitely his safe space. Igor is making progress!

the first meeting between Igor and Ewen; look at Igor’s stance and his pinned ears. Right after I took this picture he swatted Ewen on the nose and the terms of their relationship were established