Up until 36 hours ago I was the Mistress of my Universe, in charge and (mostly control) of my life. Sunday Night (Halloween of course) that changed.
The largest source of domestic stress was the ongoing war between Fergus (the cat) and Fish (the monster 9 lb dog). The latter is now about 2 1/2 years old. He has shown a remarkable inability to modify his behaviour when other animals are warning him to BACK OFF. I swear he was dropped on his head when he was born.
In addition to his learning difficulties Fish has (what can only be described) as inappropriate physical abnormalities. This is a tiny animal with the genitals and teeth of a much larger dog. He is also weirdly greedy about body parts. There are 3 testicles and, after finally losing his baby teeth and gaining a full set of adult chompers, he decided to grown another tooth in front of what should have been an adequate number already. You can understand why I’m anxious to get him neutered.
Still, life had settled into a reasonable, if fractious, rhythm. It is now much messier – and louder. On Sunday night a “friend” arrived at my house and handed me this ….
Ciaran (Scottish Gaelic for small, dark haired, boy) weighs about 1 pound. Most of his mass is located in his feet. Now normally you might think this indicates an adult cat of considerable size – you know, he’d grow into them. Not in this one’s case – at least that’s not why his feet are so big.
No this little thing has an abnormal number of toes. He has 6 on each of his 4 paws – no dew claws, but lots of toe beans. Trimming his nails will be a major event.
I was worried about the reaction of Fergus and Duff – the house is their territory. They have been surprisingly Zen about him – curious but not aggressive.
At least they were until I put him in the litter box. I didn’t realize they were quite so possessive about their kitty litter. He now has his own bathroom in another part of the house.
The biggest problem has been Fish. I know he wants to be friends but unfortunately he is overly enthusiastic – and loud. His bark would be natural coming from a much larger animal. sigh
Ciaran is very loud as well – his hiss and growl are fully developed even if he isn’t. I’ve ordered a refill for one of the Feliway Diffusers I used when we first moved here. It should help mellow him out.
When budget permits I’ll get an equivalent calming collar for Fish. It’s still possible we’ll all survive – maybe. In the meantime my biggest fear is that this happy home will become a wreck by Spring.
This Fundy Migrant's Tale 