On Cats

As many of you know who have read my dog eulogies, I am , and have been most of my life, a dog person.  I have told you the story of Libbi and Darby and Pepper, now all gone from us.  At this point I am not sure if there is another dog In my future but as a stop gap measure, I apparently have become a cat person. Here is how that happened.  

Almost two years ago a decision was made to adde a cat to our household, who at the time consisted my wife, myself, Darby and Pepper.  My nene chose to oblige this need and provided us with a five week old kitten who we named Roxy.  Roxi in very short order assumed command of the household including making decisions as to what the dogs were and were not allowed to do.  Roxi was friendly with my wife and tolerated me. The dogs she chose to allow to live provided they behaved themselves and knew their place.  She would never admit it but she was seen, when she thought no human was watching, cavorting with  Pepper. 

But then Darbi passed on and later Pepper followed.  Suddenly she found herself as the sol furry person in the house. But that was soon to change.  This past June someone made the insane decision that she was lonely and needed another furry friend.  Gypsi came into our life.  Roxi immediately adopted Gypsi as her own kitten but was quite confused as she had absolutely no recollection of  giving birth, but she nevertheless assumed that she must have because there was the kitten and where else could it have com from.  

This is where the story turns dark.  Roxi became aggressive.  I am not sure why but I believe a compilation of events brought this about.  From hormonal changes as a result of being spayed, to losing her friend Pepper to birthing a kitten she had no recollection of having, she kind of lost her mind.  For no apparent reason, she attacked my son’s 25 pound dog.  He won’t admit it, but I believe my son is still upset that his 25 pound dog had her ass handed to her by a eight pound cat.   Next she turned on my 16 year old grandson who remarked “someone needs to put that friggin cat down!

Most recently she took offense with my Daughter in law and attempted to take her on.  Fortunately the incident was resolved without damage but it made me start thinking if I need to take measures to insure the safety of guests in my home.  I did some research and was surprised to discover that cats can be just as protective of their humans as are dogs.  Usually not to this degree, but it does help to explain  the why of the situation.  For it is surprising when she resorts to this behavior.  Mostly she is loving and affectionate and most especially at five in the morning when I am trying to sleep). 

I truly hope that those offended by her behavior will give her the benefit of the doubt realizing that her actions were honorable and well intended.  One does not know what her early five weeks of life were like,  how her cat mother and siblings treated her.  One thing I do know is she was born in Kentucky and that could explain a lot.