Some days I feel like the Cat Whisperer, and other days I'm just another completely confused cat caretaker. Today I'm the latter.
My beloved Mew has me mystified lately. In spite of his inner feral, which I know still lurks deep within, Mew has an exceptionally gentle heart. It is his gentle heart that earned him the title of Diplomatic Liaison for All Immigrant Felines. Whenever a new cat would show up, Mew was the first to visit the baby gates and welcome the newcomer. Never a hiss or growl, just welcoming curiosity. I invited him into the bedroom to be the first to make non-gated contact, as well, and he never let me down. He was always calm, passive, and reassuring for the newbie. Then when it was time for the newbie to venture out into the rest of the household, Mew was always there to lend quiet moral support and more reassurance. Always the gentleman, with the emphasis on gentle.
But that all changed with the Three Mouseketeers. These rowdy boys were not nearly as grateful for Mew's kindness as they should have been. In fact, they were blatantly ungrateful and even aggressive toward him. As they got more comfortable here, they drove Mew into hiding in my office. My gentle-hearted boy was bullied every time he tried to leave the office, and he quickly learned to keep out of sight unless I was present to protect him.
But now things are changing again. After three years in hiding, Mew has finally decided to reclaim his home. He used to sleep with me every single night, but once the Mouseketeers claimed me as their pillow, Mew refused to come near at night. Then early this year he took back a spot curled up against my chest. He can even occasionally be seen sleeping on the couch with Feather, which is exceptionally odd since Feather is by far and away the most aggressive and psychologically unstable of the Shadowood Pride. Feather has been responsible for inflicting more abscesses in this household than all of the other cats combined, and he has attacked Mew violently and repeatedly over the years.
While I am extremely happy that Mew has reclaimed his rightful place in this house, I am also very disturbed by some of his recent behavior. Although I would have staked my reputation as the Cat Whisperer on the fact that Mew would NEVER seriously aggress toward another cat, much less one as combustible as Feather, that is exactly what he seems intent on doing now. At least I think that's what he's doing. On several occasions this past week, I have had to hold Mew back from going after Feather. I know his intention is serious, because his body completely tenses up, and he gets that black-eyed tomcat glare. So I distract him or carry him to another part of the house until he cools down and relaxes into his sweet self again.
Then today there was a moment when Feather and Mew actually seemed to be having a game of playful chase, but I know better than to trust that it would have remained playful if I hadn't intervened.
This evolving shift in Mew's attitude and behavior toward Feather seems to stem from a single source ... and his name is Siliman (of course). Siliman LOVES to run around the house, chasing and jumping on anyone who will allow it ... and some who won't. Most of the cats don't take him seriously and basically ignore his goofy behavior. Even Mew, who was terrified of Siliman initially, now knows that his intentions are purely playful. Mew will now play chase with Siliman,. Doing so has apparently done much to bolster Mew's self-confidence and pump up his courage to face Feather and the other Mouseketeers. Mew even hissed at me during a play session the other day, and he hasn't done that since he first arrived! Siliman has released Mew's inner feral!!!
I just don't know what's going on around here anymore. For a while there, Feather and Siliman were also play buddies, but now Feather has had one of his periodic psychotic breaks and decided that Siliman should die. They have gotten into several nasty fights recently. The one last week resulted in them both limping and being put on antibiotics. Perhaps now that Mew has decided that Siliman can be fun, he's also decided to forge an alliance with him against Feather.
So let's recap. I'm living with Feather, the occasionally violent psychotic; Mew, the pacifist turned vigilante; Siliman, the instigator of all things naughty; and a myriad of others who could turn into werewolves, for all I know, at any moment!
Cat Whisperer, my foot! I need a valium!
Laurie
