Happiness in kittyland.

[icarus]

I have a cat.

Or rather, I have created a temporary cat refuge for my aunt's bullied kitty, Taffy. The little ginger-striped tabby is nested next to me on the couch, purring and safe from a much larger cat who thinks she's prey.

The scabs on her ears and little pink nose are starting to flake away. She no longer walks crouched and fearful. She knows there's no threat here. (Though she gets nervous if I leave the door open to the rest of the--bully infested--house.) Yesterday she walked upstairs with me to visit my aunt and avail herself of the catnip.

*holds her out* She's a temp, but isn't she pretty?

Okay. Back to decorating. I'm going to have to buy a bed. The one I have here is...gllrgh.

Comments

[elizabeth_rice]

I'm glad she found a safe place. If one cat doesn't like another, can they be trained to, uh, get along? I forget but your aunt has four cats, right?

[icarus]

It has less to do with not liking each other, and more to do with the fact that the older, bigger cat treating her as prey. Cats are predators.

[elizabeth_rice]

I've seen this behaviour in dogs. Medium-sized dogs like German Shepherds (aka Alsatians), Dobermanns, Rottweilers, etc. tend to attack smaller dogs like toy breeds and small children. The owners are encouraged to socialise them but sometimes it doesn't work.

There aren't many cat-owners in my country. Because of the superstitions still surrounding cats and the crime-rate, people prefer dogs. So I don't know much about cats. I don't think I've ever seen kittens in a pet store either. Pups, turtles, fish, love birds. Never kittens.

[icarus]

No kitties? Where do you live?

[elizabeth_rice]

I sent you a PM. Hope you receive it.