A CAT'S BEST FRIEND

Smooch and Dora have a thing goin’ on!

My grandson’s fluffy cat (actually she belongs to my grandson’s girlfriend) now has dual residence. When downstairs with her mistress she constantly meows to go outside, but her wish is no sooner granted than she’s up here on the balcony, face pressed to the window, demanding entrance.

Dora was just a tiny thing when she was introduced to the two dogs. Grump, the older pit, let her live just because he was forbidden (by me) to hurt her; he learned that she was NOT an invader, but a part of the family. Now he ignores her for the most part and she, being a very wise kitty, treats him with the respect and the distance he deserves.

Smooch, although huge, is still a puppy, so his reaction was “Yippee! Let’s play!!” At first Dora would race for safety, jumping under or up wherever he couldn’t follow, then sit fixing him with that baleful glare common to felines. It wasn’t long before the kitten realized there was no real danger, and their encounters became a game. Now when Smooch gives up waiting and loses interest, she comes out of hiding, saunters in front of him, not quite within reach, and the pursuit is on again.

Lately a new element has been added to their play. Dora no longer runs away. At the moment she is in heat, and I do believe her lascivious eye, for lack of the presence of her own kind, has singled out Smooch.

It is something to see them in action. Dora literally sprawls on the floor, then hangs on. Smooch pushes with his huge nose everywhere, from one end to the other, and even takes her whole head in his mouth...gently. The only word to describe it is ‘mauling’, but if I tell Smooch to stop, Dora lies there and waits for him to start over. This goes on until the she decides it’s enough, by which time her fur is usually soaked, then she’ll bat his tender nose with a paw... gently ...before running off, most of the time with him close behind her. She’ll lie low for awhile, making an appearance only when she is ready to play anew.

One of her favorite ‘safe’ places is on my bed. It is out of bounds for the doggies, a fact she discovered and remembered. She was there for most of the hockey game last night, relaxing after a rather exhausting session with the gangly pup earlier in the evening. Grump was lying by the fireplace on the floor, and Smooch was snoozing on the couch beside me, his long legs hanging over the edge, and this is where Dora headed when she silently joined us in the living room.

I watched as she stalked softly over to her sleeping buddy. She sniffed a foot, then licked the bottom pads with her little pink tongue. The dog slept on, but the leg twitched. She waited for a second, then started on another foot. That one twitched too. She moved to the next one...and this went on until all four legs were jerking. It was like watching a feather tickling a nose to wake someone, and I was already giggling by the time Smooch finally came to. He lifted his head, their eyes met for a moment, and the chase was on! Dora streaked away, Smooch nearly went head over heels in his awkward jump off the couch to scramble after her, and I missed at least 10 minutes of the game because I was laughing so hard there were tears in my eyes!

It was a delightful moment with my beasties. What’s more, the night continued in the same vein, because my HABS won their game, so no wonder I’m SMILING!!!

It’s sent out to y’all with a belated wish for Valentine’s Day. Want some snow with that?

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.