You’ve probably noticed that your cat will avoid certain people and animals and they may seem fascinated by others. While your kitty may ignore most visitors, she always approaches Aunt Mary, for example. Fluffy and Puffy might watch a wandering dog through the window with great interest, but hiss and growl every time they see Sparky, the neighborhood feral cat.
Even within the pet family, cats will have
favorites. She might always curl up and cuddle with a sibling or the largest family dog, but stay clear of the other critters in the household. What is it that creates friendships within the animal kingdom? This is an interesting question because we’ve all seen cute pictures of a cat allowing a deer to lick her face, a kitten snuggled under the wings of a momma duck, a gorilla gently holding a kitten, a cat hanging out with a calf and so forth.
Many cats make friends with the household dog when adopted, which is pretty smart on the cat’s part. You sure don’t want to get on a dog’s bad side when he outweighs you by thirty pounds. But some cats even become best buddies with a pet bird or a wild bird. There are certainly a lot of videos and photos online showing best bud birds and cats. It’s absolutely charming. Just type in “cat and bird friends” at the search prompt and you’ll be treated to some of the most adorable videos and stories.
In my Klepto Cat Mystery Book 36—which I’m currently working on—I’ve brought in a couple of different types of birds for Rags to interact with. I think you’ll find the stories around his acceptance and even friendship with these birds refreshing and entertaining. No spoiler alert here. Book 36—“A Whisker of Truth” should be out for your summer reading pleasure sometime in July.
Yes, I wish my two cats would like each other more. They had a dust-up last night for only they and God know why. They have been together a long time. Why don’t they get along better?
Hi Betsy, A “dust-up” cute term. Never heard it before. Is it British? Thank you for the comment. I will do some research and see if I can answer your question as to why some cats don’t get along. Watch for a post with that theme next week. Today is National Hug Your Cat Day. I don’t suppose there will be any way they’ll hug each other. Oh, I do have one idea. Ever watch Jackson Galaxy’s show “Cat From Hell?” I don’t know if he’s still doing it or if they’re just running his reruns. He faced that problem on his show often and usually was able to help to a degree. He watched the cats’ actions and studied their personality to discover what each wanted, how they reacted to people, activities, whatever. Then he’d try to afford each cat his pleasures–one might prefer being higher–create perches on the walls where he can sit and nap. One cat might have bad eyesight and when the other one comes near, he is startled. There could be any of a hundred reasons–one of them got the upper paw at some point and has taken advantage of that. Maybe the meeker cat needs more one-on-one human time. We’ll explore this next week. In the meantime, maybe you can tell me more about what seems to trigger their “dust-offs.” Email me at PLFry620@yahoo.com