The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

What a splendid concept! The cat and the dog are calmly enjoying a 'time out' moment together... how fascinating!! This could happen in my house only on the condition that I was sitting in the middle, and each animal would have one ear listening for any hint of movement by the other party.

The cat and the dog are a very unique 'odd couple' for sure.

Each has endearing qualities...and annoying habits, too.

This is Scout:
About fourteen years ago, a good friend called and said that her 5 dogs were barking up a storm and that upon investigation, she found a scared, little kitten in the bushes. Once removed from danger, she was the friendliest little ball of fur, and did I want to come out and see her and maybe bring her home as a companion to my lone cat?

Did I think that I would make a rational decision?

The first couple of hours were spent outside on the porch with a mixture of Dawn dish detergent and water to stash the whole bunch of fleas that I removed off of her body. When I took her to the vet, she said,

"I hope you didn't get this cat to keep the other one company because cats enjoy being alone."

Great...isn't that just great!! The vet was right...the two cats tolerated each other at best.

In reference to Scout [the cat] here's one version of ...the good, the bad, and the ugly:

The Good: As a young cat, she would retrieve the plastic water bottle cap that was flicked away for her to chase, bring it back, and drop it in front of me. While getting ready for school, I would pitch it[ the cap] down the stairs from the second floor. She would retrieve it, drop it back on the floor in the hallway, stretch out and lie down...waiting for me to pick it up again and send her in chase of it again down the stairs. It was pretty amazing! Perhaps she's a dog masquerading as a cat!

The Bad: When she wouldn't come out from behind the couch, I thought something was askew. When she began projectile vomiting, I knew something was wrong. Of course, my vet was on vacation, and so the vet covering her absence agreed to examine Scout. She was kept overnight, and was just not rallying. When xrays were taken, it became clear that there was a blockage that needed to be fixed. The 'substitute' vet said he would have no problem doing the surgery, but he was going off duty at noon, and I would have to pick her up and deliver her to the next 'on call' vet. Scout was not conscious when I placed her box in which she was sandwiched between two heated bags of [IV] solution into the car, and delivered her to the next vet.
Forty eight hours and $300 later, they handed me the ziplock bag with the thread she had eaten along with the plastic thing she had for dessert!!

The Ugly: She rules! When she feels it is time to eat breakfast in the wee small hours of daybreak, she comes to the bedroom door and MEOWS. If ignored, she then begins to scratch the carpet at the doorway. She wins. Then I had a folding louvered door installed at the beginning of the hallway to the bedroom so that she could not get to the bedroom door. That worked for a while, since the louvered door had to be pulled to fold...

Somehow she figured it out and managed to squeeze her head in the far right space of the doorway, and get past it! This is like the never ending battle with squirrels at the birdfeeders!

Now I put the waste basket from the living room in front of the right side of the louvred door so that Scout can't push it with her head. So far, it's 'advantage...human'! [Similar to a tennis call!]

The first thing that happens in the morning is the feeding the four-legged members of the family. Not dry food...

When I place both dishes on the floor, Gracie will sniff hers, and then go stand directly behind the cat. Then, after about twenty-seven seconds...Scout will mosey on over to the dog food and eat some of it while the dog eats the cat food.

I even began feeding them the same food at times: Pedigree Ground meat packets. They both still prefer to eat the other's food!! Do they think they are starving each other, or do they think the other bowl just tastes better?While the cat is a force to be dealt with, there are times that the dog will chase the cat out of the room at hurricane speed, and then smile.

Yes...I swear she smiles! Grace does know that in a stare-down, Scout wins.

So the dog chooses her battles, and knowing that the cat rules, Grace has to keep her in line any way that she can!

It certainly makes life interesting!!! One never knows...do one!