Here's Esther, with Lily, in one of their more peaceful moments:
(CLICK TO SEE FULL-SIZE IMAGE)
Lily has a habit of backing up, running full tilt and crashing into the blind side of... a cat? a person? a wheelchair? It doesn't seem to matter much to her; it's the full-tilt part and the blind-side crash that appeal to her kitten's sense of play.
Night before last, it finally got to her. I was in my wheelchair, stopped at a hall crossing. I could not see Lily at all. I knew she was around, so I looked left, right, ahead and behind for about 30 seconds. She was none of those places. But she was directly below me. As I inched away from my parking spot, Lily made her typical move, a dash-out-in-front followed by a sudden reverse and face-off of the wheelchair.
She never made it. Let me emphasize right now that ultimately she was unharmed... but that was no certainty at the moment, as she let out a blood-curdling yowl. I had no idea which way, or even whether, to move. Eventually I inched forward. Wrong direction, as it turned out. Lily, who was still yowling, yowled louder. Esther (Lily's mom, remember) dashed in front of me, whirled, did a bit of yowling and growling herself, extended her claws at me and questioned my goodwill. I, in turn, questioned the legitimacy of her offspring. "What's 'legitimacy'?" she effectively replied. "That's where you find a smarter tomcat next time," I snarked, forgetting for a moment that she would know no more tomcats. She stalked off with her aggrieved kitten; I inched off toward the bathroom, which is where I was headed in the first place.
Two days later, all is quiet. Lily has made no further moves toward the wheelchair. I use the walker instead of the chair whenever I feel strong enough to do so. Ruffled fur and raised voices are much less frequent today. It's a good thing cats tend to forget conflicts! What concerns me most is that Lily is one of those kittens who have no fear, and I don't know how that can be taught in the proper degree without harming or terrifying the poor thing.
UPDATE: I think Lily is suicidal. First, Stella spotted her crawling through a hole in the base of the built-in dishwasher; one presumes the works are in there somewhere. Since Stella saw her, we didn't start the d/w until she emerged, and she was unharmed. Later, about 4:30am today, I heard a racket near the base of the lamp plugged in next to the easy chair I sleep in: of course it was Lily, doing her best to bite through the live power cord (the lamp was on). She did not stop even when I poked at her, shouted at her, etc.; I had to get up and chase her away in person. Stupid, stupid kitten, and fearless to boot! I hope she survives to a size where she cannot crawl inside equipment, and that she learns not to use power cords as chew toys. Sigh!
Ahh bless. Whatever else they are utter beauties!
ReplyDeleteSerious subject----delightful writing.....
ReplyDeleteKittens are crazy, but some more so than others. One of the reasons CC is at a neighbor's instead of my Mother's is because of her attacks at the back of people's legs.
ReplyDeleteLily will calm down eventually but it is a tough row to hoe until she does.
They do make a beautiful pair, when they finally tire out.
mandt, thanks. Bryan, please read the update I'm about to write on this post.
ReplyDeletejams, thanks... that's the only thing that saves them, and even that won't save them from stupidity! :)
ReplyDeleteYou definitely need a small squirt gun for discipline. There are also products that discourage cats from approaching areas or objects, but I would think that there is a natural substance that isn't harmful, but tastes bad could be used on the cords.
ReplyDeleteBryan, Stella, in her usual overkill of any problem, bought me a tiny pocket cylinder with a spray head. AFAICT, the content is water. I haven't had occasion to use it yet, but it's the right size, and I will not hesitate to spray her with water, which can at most annoy her.
ReplyDelete