In Love or Cold?…

Our calico cat, Callie, has been with us for going on five years now.

She adopted us when she was about two.  She had been left behind when her owners moved out of the apartments we moved into in Garland.  When we accepted a house-sitting position in Florida we had to take her to the shelter because she was great with kit.  Four months later it just so happened she was waiting, now spayed (to prevent any further pregnancy whoopsies), to join us at Footlights, our new home.

Our stars were aligned as they say.

About eighteen months later the rhythm of our quiet existence – two humans, one cat –  was completely turned upside down.

Two barnyard toms came to stay.  Six months old, sweet, verbal and thrilled to be inside the climate controlled environs of our house instead of the sweltering heat or bitter cold of a metal barn.

They’d never heard of boundaries.

Callie and I employed all the tricks in the book to bring them up to speed on domestic life but Footlights was their oyster now and they commandeered the beds, the tables, counters and sofas without so much as a by-your-leave.

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No amount of hissing and squirting with water stopped their exuberance.  We put it down to youth and slowly they wormed their ways into our hearts and trained us in their ways.

Almost three years later Shadow, the Russian Blue, has no ambitions as long as his tummy’s rubbed, we throw a toy for him to fetch and food shows up regularly.

Magic, the black one, on the other hand remains Callie’s toughest challenge.  He is constantly overstepping the limits in his quest to be Alpha Cat.  She has to remind him daily that the job’s been taken.

Happily she knows when to pick her battles preferring the quiet life of two humans, one cat.  She may have lost her place on the bed and in our laps but she has gained frequent dozes in Hubs’ office chair and naps in my bedroom chair (recently re-upholstered in a floral fabric).

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Passively she leaves behind a fine coat of white fur to remind us who they really belong to.

We have also furnished her with fleece-lined baskets in all her favorite bolt holes.

Woe betide any cat who dares encroach upon her self-designated spaces…she’ll give him the evil eye and if he insists on getting too close she’ll hiss and strike out with her neatly manicured claws.

Shads too has a fleece lined basket alongside Callie’s on the kitchen settle (for when the back of the sofa becomes too predictable).

These baskets are interchangeable between the two of them with the unwritten rule that Magic is not allowed.

The other evening Hubs and I watched as Shads sat comfortably in Callie’s basket.  She hopped up beside him; Her boundary rules evidently not in effect.

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Then, a few days later she decided his basket looked enticing despite her empty one.  She landed fair and square on top of him startling him from his slumber.  He sleepily lifted his head and she meticulously cleaned his face and ears before shifting around in order to get comfortable in the small space next to him.

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Either she’s in love or cold…

whatever…for the time being they seem to prefer sharing.

After all they are contrary cats.

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ElRay

2019-02-14 20:12:57 Reply

Great article. Nice Kitties.

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