Maria’s friend Shari has been away on holidays so we have been looking after her cat Onyx. Onyx is a dignified and sedate 8 year old lady who is used to a quiet single cat household. She tends to be a bit grumpy if her serenity is disturbed.
We have a single cat household as well – but our guy is a fun loving, high energy 9 month old cement head named Mr. Oates. Oatsy started out in a household with kids and then spent some time in a shelter with scores of other cats, so he’s had a bit of a hardscrabble life. He’s kind and inoffensive and actually fairly submissive, but he’s a teenager meeting a granny for the first time.
We never had open warfare but a series of skirmishes marked their introduction. Oates would stalk and run after Onyx, who would hiss and growl. Oates would back off for a couple of minutes, than rinse and repeat. And so it went. Onyx can’t jump and Oates probably could slam dunk a basketball if he could hold it in his paws. Needless to say he takes the high road.
We lock Onyx away at night with food, water, litter and a comfy bed so she (and we) can get some sleep. That isolation suits her fine, especially since she does not have to share her food with Oatsy during her incarceration.
We play with them – a lot. Both Oates and Onyx like Neko Flies but playing with her is a slow pitch softball league and playing with him is trying to hit a David Price fastball at the Rogers Centre. Nevertheless getting some energy out helped ease tensions.
They have agreed to co-exist for the duration, but I’m sure Onyx will be happy to go back to her serene and comfortable existence. Should happen this weekend.
