Our Other Blog: Two Sisters and Two Points of View
by Taswegian1957 & Human59
The other day I was outside taking some doll photos on the front porch and Polly decided to join me. As she is an inside cat she only comes out if I am there and I know that she won’t wander too far away. She did take the opportunity to get a little fresh air and of course a good stretch.
I thought I’d share a couple of photos that I took of Cindy and Polly today. The last couple of weeks have been very strange to them and I’m very relieved that they have adapted well to our current situation.
I haven’t mentioned this in a post before because I have been deeply upset about it but a few months ago Cindy and Polly had a big fight. I don’t know what it was over as I didn’t see what happened. They get on so well that I could usually let them move freely around the house. I would separate them to eat because Cindy will eat the cat food of course. I don’t let Cindy have bones any more because she gets a very bad attitude about sharing and always thinks Polly will take it from her. Actually, I have seen Polly stealing Cindy’s dry food but she didn’t seem to worry about that.
Anyway this particular evening both had gone outside and I had left the back door open so they could come back. That’s when I heard an awful din coming from the passage. As I said I have no idea what happened. Did Polly steal some dog food? did she startle Cindy in the dark? I don’t know but she was seriously upset and had a little scratch on her face. She would not go near Cindy for several days after that.
Then one day after I’d been keeping them apart they met and appeared to be fine. All was good for a couple of weeks then, again when I was in the next room something happened. I did not hear a fight but Polly ran out upset again and this time she did not forgive Cindy. Since then if she even saw her through a glass door she would hiss and stalk away. I am sure Cindy had no idea why Polly was still mad at her.
I had to keep the two of them separate. Cindy had the run of the living rooms and kitchen as well as outside. Polly had the passage and bedrooms. At night I would have to shoo her into the laundry so I could shut Cindy in my room before bed. Polly missed me I think. Sometimes she’d miaow at the living room door for me to come and would just want to be petted. Cindy spent a lot of time lying under the pergola outside. I was miserable because I missed spending time with Polly, Cindy cried if I was away from her too long, and I missed watching them play together.
Naturally, I was worried sick about how I was going to manage them when we had to evacuate. My friends in Franklin have dogs so Cindy had to stay outside a lot or if I brought her to where I was sleeping I had to put Polly in her crate and put it in the toilet. It was far from ideal for either of them.
Then we came here to Matt and Ally’s place. The original plan was for Polly to be confined to the laundry but she soon worked out how to open the sliding door. We moved her to the room Ally uses for craft and she was happy enough but soon she wanted to come out. One day she managed to slip out the door when I was closing it and came face to face with Cindy who would lie outside the door whenever I was in there.
Nothing happened! Polly greeted her as if there had never been a fight and since then she has been quite her old self around Cindy even going up to give her a wash like she always used to. I haven’t seen them play yet but they might when we go home. I have no idea what prompted the change in attitude but it has made things so much easier.
Of course, I don’t take anything for granted. Polly is shut away to eat and I have bought a crate for Cindy and shut her in it at night. Polly sometimes sleeps in the room with us but I no longer have to worry about fights when I am asleep. I will never leave them unsupervised together if I go out or anywhere around food but I feel like it is a little miracle.
I’ve had both cats and dogs as pets and while I often see my dogs as four legged people when I look at my cats I see the wild creature in them. They may have chosen to live with us but they are not like us.
Watch a cat stalking a bird or even a bug, they are as focussed on their target as if their lives depended on catching their own food. Even Polly who was not allowed outside the house for the first year or two of her life knows how to stalk prey. It’s all instinct.
Cat’s are not needy. Some cats like to cuddle and some don’t. Some love to hang out with you and some are much more independent. One ginger male we had used to follow us to the railway station when we went to work meowing piteously all the way, often he’d be on or near the platform on the opposite side of the tracks in the afternoon when we came home. I don’t know how he learned that but he did.
Most of our previous cats have liked to sit on laps or sleep on the bed. Polly has never wanted to sleep in the bedroom let alone on the bed. She has never been a lap cat either, at least not with me. I was very surprised that over the last week or two she has suddenly decided to curl up on my lap in the evenings but that may have as much to do with the fact that I was sitting in the armchair nearest to the heater as love. She’s sleeping on that chair herself right now and I am banished to the couch.
I’m always amused by the saying “Dogs have owners, cats have staff.” They demand their food, usually at a set time.They demand your food and may help themselves from your plate if you don’t stop them. They will wake you up with a pat on the face if they want breakfast, even at 3 am and they make you get up and let them in or out fifteen times in an evening sometimes coming in one door and going straight out another. If they want to sit on your lap you must accommodate them no matter what you might be doing. Never mind that newspaper you were trying to read or your knitting. Once they are settled you don’t get up out of your chair for fear of disturbing them. I am sure TV remotes were invented by a cat owner.
Then there is Naomi’s cat Tigerwoods who thinks it is amusing to jump into your chair the minute you get out of it. I’ve nearly sat on him more than once. I think that he does that just for a joke but often cats will do something annoying because they want attention and have worked out what action is likely to get it.
Despite their bossy ways I can’t help feeling very privileged when a cat likes me though.
A Facebook memory reminder today was a photo of Polly from five years ago. We found Polly on the 6th of January 2013 when she was probably about 8 weeks old. It’s been fascinating to see how she’s grown in confidence over five years although she still does not like strangers and hides if anyone comes to the house only making an exception for Naomi who she has decided to be friends with. I started to blog the same year that Polly arrived so her life with me has been well documented. Here is a look back.
I was going to use this for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge as either Polly or lazy but I changed my mind. However, it is too nice a photo of Polly not to share.
Now here’s an easy one for a pet lover but how to make it different? Maybe some special effects.
A black and white picture of my black and white cat. What could be better?
Of course we can’t leave Cindy out.
And one from last year.
Like many pet owners I enjoy funny animal films on YouTube. Who doesn’t like the funny antics of cats and cute kittens? Cole and Marmalade is a great series about the lives of two very spoiled cats and the stuff they get up to. But the other night, while having a cat video watching session, I became quite concerned about the number of films of cats that seemed quite distressed and how little the owners seemed to care.
Yes it is funny when your cat accidentally falls into the bath. It does happen. At least one of mine has fallen in the tub due to being too curious about what I was doing in there. Some cats really hate water and don’t like being bathed but if they need it bathing them is not really cruel. Seeing a pet having an embarrassing fail is funny in the same way it is funny when a human slips on a banana skin.
However, allowing a small child to drag the cat into the bath against its will certainly is cruel, not to mention being a very stupid idea. I saw this last night and could not believe the child’s parents were allowing it let alone filming it. The poor cat was really upset.
So was the cat whose owner thought it would be fun to stand in the middle of her pool nursing her cat who obviously did not want to be there. I hope she got scratched.
Yes cats can swim but that is not an excuse to throw your cat into the pool as I saw one person do. He just tossed it like it was a toy. That was mean!
It seems to me that there are a lot of people out there doing stuff to their pets just to make a funny film for YouTube. The cat is scared and runs away and in the background you hear hearty laughter from the humans. Well they are not funny! If people want to make fools of themselves, hurt themselves for their five minutes of fame fine. I don’t care. But don’t do it to your cat!
