Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Wellington Rules
An acquaintance brought Wellington to me, a small kitten running wild in a restaurant parking lot. His gray tabby marks highlighted by a white muzzle, stomach and paws made him look like a model for a kitten calendar. I already had a Napoleon( white with a few black markings) and Josephine (long-haired, white with a mostly black back and black ears), so it seemed appropriate to name the kitten after the Duke that defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. I did not suspect how appropriate the name would be.
I always worry when a kitten is introduced to my horde of cats. While all are amazingly tolerant of each other, there are spats, outbreaks of jealousy, and general jockeying for rank and attention. Kittens are often intimidated by the activity. Not Wellington. He grew quickly and soon began working his way up the cat hierarchy.
Napoleon was one of his first conquests. While Napoleon was older, he was not a large cat, weighing less than nine pounds. Wellington, less than half-grown, weighed about seven pounds, but already possessed the will to dominant. Play fights between Wellington and Napoleon inevitably turned into real combat with Wellington the victor. After a few of those encounters, Napoleon surrendered. Any time Wellington entered a room, Napoleon exited.
Wellington continued to grow and continued to strive toward the goal of being top cat. Only a few of the older females seemed able to subdue him. He solved that problem by ignoring them and choosing other opponents. Finally, Wellington, full-grown, weighing in at nineteen pounds, emerged as ruler of the pride.
Wellington's daily routine consists of prowling through the house searching for opposition. If there is none, he will swat another cat just to reinforce his dominance.
Our oldest females, both eighteen, Cleopatra( a classic brown and tan tabby) and Dot (a black and brown tabby with generous splashes of white), remain the only cats he cannot dominate, although he tries occasionally. Both respond with swift swats and vibrant hisses that send him in retreat. This is remarkable because both are rather small females, but age and experience does make a difference. While Cleo and Dot could reign as the matriarchs of the household, their only desire is to be treated with the respect they deserve and left alone.
Napoleon and Josephine have become Wellington's most frequent targets. If Wellington has not satisfied his desire for dominance by cuffing the first subservient cat he encounters, he goes in search of Napoleon or Josephine. Wellington harasses his victim until he or she surrenders, just as if he is making sure history always repeats itself, and Wellington again defeats Napoleon at Waterloo.
I always worry when a kitten is introduced to my horde of cats. While all are amazingly tolerant of each other, there are spats, outbreaks of jealousy, and general jockeying for rank and attention. Kittens are often intimidated by the activity. Not Wellington. He grew quickly and soon began working his way up the cat hierarchy.
Napoleon was one of his first conquests. While Napoleon was older, he was not a large cat, weighing less than nine pounds. Wellington, less than half-grown, weighed about seven pounds, but already possessed the will to dominant. Play fights between Wellington and Napoleon inevitably turned into real combat with Wellington the victor. After a few of those encounters, Napoleon surrendered. Any time Wellington entered a room, Napoleon exited.
Wellington continued to grow and continued to strive toward the goal of being top cat. Only a few of the older females seemed able to subdue him. He solved that problem by ignoring them and choosing other opponents. Finally, Wellington, full-grown, weighing in at nineteen pounds, emerged as ruler of the pride.
Wellington's daily routine consists of prowling through the house searching for opposition. If there is none, he will swat another cat just to reinforce his dominance.
Our oldest females, both eighteen, Cleopatra( a classic brown and tan tabby) and Dot (a black and brown tabby with generous splashes of white), remain the only cats he cannot dominate, although he tries occasionally. Both respond with swift swats and vibrant hisses that send him in retreat. This is remarkable because both are rather small females, but age and experience does make a difference. While Cleo and Dot could reign as the matriarchs of the household, their only desire is to be treated with the respect they deserve and left alone.
Napoleon and Josephine have become Wellington's most frequent targets. If Wellington has not satisfied his desire for dominance by cuffing the first subservient cat he encounters, he goes in search of Napoleon or Josephine. Wellington harasses his victim until he or she surrenders, just as if he is making sure history always repeats itself, and Wellington again defeats Napoleon at Waterloo.
# posted by January Cat @ 1:14 PM 
