Tuesday, March 2, 2010

A Truce was Called

But just for a moment.

I was shocked and surprised yesterday to walk by the couch to see Pepper ACTUALLY ALLOWING ANOTHER CAT TO LAY NEXT TO HER AND EVEN TOUCH HER!

A picture had to be made in honor of this momentous occasion.


Pepper is our first born so to speak, and she is still angry at us for allowing all of these other cats into her home. She was queen of the house for her first year of life, no sharing of food bowls or litter boxes, able to sleep wherever she wanted and all the toys were hers and hers alone. And then we ruined it all for her by bringing in a bunch of sassy little kittens who got all of the attention because they were smaller and cuter and more fun to play with and she has never ever forgotten or forgiven. She barely tolerates all of the other cats and they usually give her a wide berth because they KNOW that they are barely tolerated and really don't want to face the Wrath Of Pepper. Cranky snarling Pepper who will growl and hiss at them if they even look at her.

So, to see Pepper and Mimi sharing the same couch space was unusual indeed. When Pepper is taking up this corner of the couch and anyone else wants to sit on the couch I usually put a few pillows in between them as a sort of no man's buffer zone, and even then it doesn't always work and we'll hear growling coming from the other side of the pillows. If she doesn't just get up in total disgust and leave the couch in a huff that is, shooting dirty looks over her shoulder as she goes.

Unusual indeed.

I did find out why Miss Pepper thinks that her sh*t doesn't stink and leaves in uncovered in the box as a little gift for me, though. I found this online article about 6 'Adorable' Cat Behaviours, and this is what they say about the uncovered poop issue:

"Some cats intentionally leave their crap uncovered or in conspicuous locations (such as on a doormat or in your sister's bed) in order to communicate to us that they are the dominant member of the household, and that this territory is theirs.

In the wacky world of feline politics, feces act as little, smelly flags that clearly dictate the boundaries of each cat's domain. In the wild, these flags are intended to be seen, and smelled, by other cats, a sign that this is the stomping grounds of a badass kitty.

When it comes to the shared domain with humans that domesticated cats enjoy, the same territorial rules still apply, so a housecat who leaves his waste out in the open is sending the message to us that he is El Presidente, and that we should be covering up our shit, so as not to offend him."

In this case, it is not El Presidente, but Queen of the Universe and don't you ever forget it! I'm just glad she confines it to the cat box, it could be a lot worse and we could be finding little surprises all over the house.

1 comment:

PussDaddy said...

Pepper looks just like my Barney who I lost three years or so ago.
I had a Mimi too, but it was a boy and did not have as prominent markings as your meeser. His name was Sam. Both cats were the best cats I ever owned.

June and PussDaddy do not get along either, and I rarely find them laying anywhere near each other. Sometimes they do surprise you for just a moment by doing something like this though don't they?

I didn't know that about the uncovered poop. Interesting.

PussDaddy