There is a war going on in our home right now...
Bobby, our short-tailed cat, is determined to cause bodily harm to Dash, a whippet my husband rescued from the backyard of our apartment building two weeks ago.
(And before you ask... its not the whippet lost at JFK a while back... She was a girl, named ViVi...)
Anyway, I don't know what Dash did to piss Bobby off... but it certainly seems to remain in the forefront of his mind because he hisses with a great deal of animation every time Dash comes near. And for the last three days, he has chased Dash through the apartment at full speed, claws out, with intent...
The first time it happened, I was on the phone talking to my mother when I heard Dash screeching like he was hurt... Before I could tell my mother to hold on, Dash whizzed past me at full whippet speed with his tail between his legs only to be followed closely by Bobby, who took a shortcut by jumping onto the back of the couch then over me onto the far arm of the couch, all the while meowing obscenities at him....
Usually mellow, Bobby was furious, his claws dug into the arm of the sofa, ready to pounce!!!
By this time Dash had backed himself into a corner of the living room with no way out but past the cat...
I wanted to bust out laughing but Bobby's demeanor and Dash's cries let me know that I had better get a handle on the situation quickly.
So I'm yelling Stop! to Bobby who isn't listening to me because he's still mouthing off at Dash who is in the corner yelping like he's already been hurt... I'm yelling to my mother to hold on because I had to drop the phone so suddenly...
I finally got Bobby's attention but only for a moment because he was still focused on Dash...
Now although I consider myself to be the alpha member of our pack when my husband is away, I'm still not foolish enough to jump in the path of a pissed off cat with razor sharp claws (I have enough marks just from him showing me love!) so I chased Bobby back into the bedroom and put up one of our many child-proof gates in the doorway. This usually makes both cats happy because it keeps the dogs out – ultimately making them king and queen of the bedroom with the bed as their throne.
So, conflict averted, I pick up the phone I had thrown down cause my mom is still holding. At the same time, I coax Dash out of the corner to check him for wounds... not a scratch... lucky dog... so I still don't know why he was crying in the first place...
My mom and I are laughing while surmising what Dash could have done when Dash, who is now half in my lap, schmoozing for attention, jumps over my leg and heads back to the corner... I look over and there is Bobby, who has returned to the living room with the type of gait that says "tough guy."
He doesn't sit... he slowly lowers himself to the ground... his eyes are trained solely on Dash... he lets out a sinister sound... I can tell it ain't over yet!
Now you might be thinking of course he hissed... its a dog ... he's a cat... but in our home, or I should say our animal sanctuary, there are two other dogs... along with another cat, about 40 zebra finches (we started with only 3 so guess what they do all day), a parakeet, several aquariums of fish (another story for another day), a turtle, a bullfrog, a crayfish, and as of two days ago, a baby starling that fell out of its nest in the same backyard where we found the dog.
Barney, our 15 yr. old Terrier/Springer Spaniel mix, has been with me longer than my husband. He now suffers from doggy Alzheimer's disease... can't see, can't hear, can't really smell... thinks he's thirsty all the time... doesn't know where he is most of the time... walks himself into corners all day... when he manages to get up and walk... mostly he sleeps... The only thing that hasn't changed is his appetite... he still lives to eat so he spends his waking hours perusing the floors like a vacuum cleaner in hopes of getting lucky...
Barney steps on, trips over, and bumps into everything and everybody all the time... Occasionally Bobby will mumble something under his breath or take a mild swipe at his head (as cats are known to do) but never with intent on hurting him... most of the time he just shakes his head as if to say "this fool doesn't even see me" and moves out of the way...
Max, our 9 yr. old Toy Poodle (aka "Happy Dog") has been with us for around 8 yrs. and is the lover/guardian of all things living... (Yet another story for yet another day!)
He and Bobby have short confrontations from time to time, usually at bedtime because Max must be thismuchcloser to my husband and I than the cats or no one but my husband (who can sleep through anything) gets any sleep.
Bobby usually gives in and crawls under the bed... But on occasion, they manage to wake up in each other's paws... (It's hard to stay mad at Max, even if you are a cat!)
So, I'm guessing that the problem isn't that Dash is a dog... but that Dash, although the youngest (we believe he is still close to puppy age) is taller than all the other animals in the house (Barney, Max and Bobby are mere inches apart in height...) and perhaps just a tad too inquisitive... He probably didn't have cats where he came from...
He used to walk right over top of them and sniff them... now he hesitates before walking anywhere near where they are...
Perhaps he got the message...
But then again... he's a dog...
Bobby, our short-tailed cat, is determined to cause bodily harm to Dash, a whippet my husband rescued from the backyard of our apartment building two weeks ago.
(And before you ask... its not the whippet lost at JFK a while back... She was a girl, named ViVi...)
Anyway, I don't know what Dash did to piss Bobby off... but it certainly seems to remain in the forefront of his mind because he hisses with a great deal of animation every time Dash comes near. And for the last three days, he has chased Dash through the apartment at full speed, claws out, with intent...
The first time it happened, I was on the phone talking to my mother when I heard Dash screeching like he was hurt... Before I could tell my mother to hold on, Dash whizzed past me at full whippet speed with his tail between his legs only to be followed closely by Bobby, who took a shortcut by jumping onto the back of the couch then over me onto the far arm of the couch, all the while meowing obscenities at him....
Usually mellow, Bobby was furious, his claws dug into the arm of the sofa, ready to pounce!!!
By this time Dash had backed himself into a corner of the living room with no way out but past the cat...
I wanted to bust out laughing but Bobby's demeanor and Dash's cries let me know that I had better get a handle on the situation quickly.
So I'm yelling Stop! to Bobby who isn't listening to me because he's still mouthing off at Dash who is in the corner yelping like he's already been hurt... I'm yelling to my mother to hold on because I had to drop the phone so suddenly...
I finally got Bobby's attention but only for a moment because he was still focused on Dash...
Now although I consider myself to be the alpha member of our pack when my husband is away, I'm still not foolish enough to jump in the path of a pissed off cat with razor sharp claws (I have enough marks just from him showing me love!) so I chased Bobby back into the bedroom and put up one of our many child-proof gates in the doorway. This usually makes both cats happy because it keeps the dogs out – ultimately making them king and queen of the bedroom with the bed as their throne.
So, conflict averted, I pick up the phone I had thrown down cause my mom is still holding. At the same time, I coax Dash out of the corner to check him for wounds... not a scratch... lucky dog... so I still don't know why he was crying in the first place...
My mom and I are laughing while surmising what Dash could have done when Dash, who is now half in my lap, schmoozing for attention, jumps over my leg and heads back to the corner... I look over and there is Bobby, who has returned to the living room with the type of gait that says "tough guy."
He doesn't sit... he slowly lowers himself to the ground... his eyes are trained solely on Dash... he lets out a sinister sound... I can tell it ain't over yet!
Now you might be thinking of course he hissed... its a dog ... he's a cat... but in our home, or I should say our animal sanctuary, there are two other dogs... along with another cat, about 40 zebra finches (we started with only 3 so guess what they do all day), a parakeet, several aquariums of fish (another story for another day), a turtle, a bullfrog, a crayfish, and as of two days ago, a baby starling that fell out of its nest in the same backyard where we found the dog.
Barney, our 15 yr. old Terrier/Springer Spaniel mix, has been with me longer than my husband. He now suffers from doggy Alzheimer's disease... can't see, can't hear, can't really smell... thinks he's thirsty all the time... doesn't know where he is most of the time... walks himself into corners all day... when he manages to get up and walk... mostly he sleeps... The only thing that hasn't changed is his appetite... he still lives to eat so he spends his waking hours perusing the floors like a vacuum cleaner in hopes of getting lucky...
Barney steps on, trips over, and bumps into everything and everybody all the time... Occasionally Bobby will mumble something under his breath or take a mild swipe at his head (as cats are known to do) but never with intent on hurting him... most of the time he just shakes his head as if to say "this fool doesn't even see me" and moves out of the way...
Max, our 9 yr. old Toy Poodle (aka "Happy Dog") has been with us for around 8 yrs. and is the lover/guardian of all things living... (Yet another story for yet another day!)
He and Bobby have short confrontations from time to time, usually at bedtime because Max must be thismuchcloser to my husband and I than the cats or no one but my husband (who can sleep through anything) gets any sleep.
Bobby usually gives in and crawls under the bed... But on occasion, they manage to wake up in each other's paws... (It's hard to stay mad at Max, even if you are a cat!)
So, I'm guessing that the problem isn't that Dash is a dog... but that Dash, although the youngest (we believe he is still close to puppy age) is taller than all the other animals in the house (Barney, Max and Bobby are mere inches apart in height...) and perhaps just a tad too inquisitive... He probably didn't have cats where he came from...
He used to walk right over top of them and sniff them... now he hesitates before walking anywhere near where they are...
Perhaps he got the message...
But then again... he's a dog...
posted by Toi at 12:09 AM
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