Divided Loyalties

I've been with darling husband for 6 years. I've been with darling kitty for 12. Usually this doesn't cause problems. I'm smart enough to recognize my priorities. Every once in awhile, though, those 2 relationships conflict and I end up caught in the middle.

Both our cats have claws. Scarlett uses a scratching post and Callie is considered "senior" and a surgical risk, so I haven't had her declawed. The only time this has been an issue was when we moved to this apartment. For some reason, that particular moved upset Callie more than others and she took out her frustration on a corner of our couch. After much guilt and apologizing to my new husband, I took all measures to keep her from doing that again. However, neither one of us has trained her not to sleep on the couch. One of her favorite spots is on the back cushions, close to whoever is sitting on the couch at a time. She's a cuddler.

Last night, I went out to dinner with a girlfriend. This always leaves me in a good mood as we discuss husbands, work, vacations, etc. I came home and Kevin had done alot of cleaning up around the house...another perk to my evening. I settled on the couch and started (rapidly) filling him on all the news. He sat down to listen (or at least pretend to!) attentively. My story was halted, however, when I noticed him scowling at the back of the couch. The problem? When cats jump on furniture, they catch it with their claws. On the back of our couch is Kevin's Georgetown afghan. Callie's jumping on it has resulted in some damage. It's like when your jewelry catches on it, the threads pull.

I'm torn here. I feel bad that "my" cat has damaged "his" blanket. At the same time, she's not scratching it, it's the result of her jumping on it. I think that he's being unrealistic. He wants pets as much as I do, but pets eventually cause damage to something in some way, shape or form. I tend to see it as coming with the territory and what he sees as "ruined" doesn't phase me in the same way.

Nevertheless, I got out the training spray and sprayed the couch. It'll keep her from choosing that as a sleeping spot. Poor kitty. She's so confused. I'm making sure she's blaming Daddy.