Cats!
Posted: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 by Travis Cody in
For those of you who haven't met him yet, this is Mr Tucker. He is a 10 year old, 20lbs, very sweet, indoor domestic shorthair. And he hasn't had a peaceful moment like this photograph in a month.
See, Mr Tucker is not confrontational. He's a spook, which means that he doesn't like strange noises or intense activity or serious change of any kind. He gets himself all worked up when we pack for a trip. He hides under the covers. And if he has to get in the carrier, he pukes within 5 minutes of leaving the house.
He's still a sweet old guy though. He's just particular and set in his ways...and spooky.
But he wants to be sociable with the houseguests, and things have been going well. Until yesterday.
This guy, Mr Bailey, can be a bit of a punk. He's a 3 year old indoor/outdoor country gentleman. He is also set in his ways, and in his defence he has been cooped up inside my place for the last month. He's had access to the balcony, but he hasn't killed anything in awhile. He's a first rate hunter, and I'm sure he just got a little stir crazy.
So my poor guy has been doing his best to be friends, and every time he gets close he gets a swat from Mr Bailey. Well, yesterday it looks like things came to a head. I walked in the door and the fur was still flying in the hallway. I don't know who started it, but Mr Tucker has established his dominance.
Last night anytime Mr Bailey came out of the bedroom, Mr Tucker hissed and spat and growled and howled. He was one pissed off spook! I think Mr Bailey got the message.
Mr Tucker has a few sore spots, so I'm not entirely certain whether he got the best of the disagreement. But at least Mr Bailey understands that there are consequences if you keep irritating the 20lbs Cat of the House.
This poor guy didn't know what to do. Mr Newby is usually a happy-go-lucky guy and gets along very well with Mr Tucker. But I found some gray fur in the mix, so I'm thinking Mr Tucker just took it out on both little guys.
Since I can't stay home to referee, I'm going to put the little guys in our bedroom for the day and leave Mr Tucker with the run of the house. Hopefully the spat will blow over soon. The folks won't be back until the end of February!
I wasn't able to get around to blogs tonight, partly because of keeping an eye on these guys. So I'll catch up soon.
Update: After some initial fussing at bedtime last night, all kitties settled down and we woke with all three in the bed. They have been very solicitous of each other this morning. Since Pam will be home most of the morning, we've decided not to segregate them and see how they do. Cross your fingers.
Wow, that brings back memories! At one time, we had five little kitties - partially due to a particularly awful stepdad that threatened to harm my stepson's cat, so of course, we agreed he could have a forever home with us!
I brought three kitties into the marrige, one of which was 18. She lived to be 22 years old. She loved sitting on the front fender watching my hubman work on his car...
When the last little guy found his home with us, we had an outbreak of spraying (all neutured, by the way!) because of the rivalry.
With cats, there's never a dull moment! I especially have fond memories of stepping in warm cat yak. Hmmmmm, fun!