Tuesday 22 September 2009

Why Can't We Be Friends?.....

My cat has got the hump with me.

We didn’t have a spectacular falling out. More like a minor disagreement. I did something stupid you see. I introduced this…..




…… to this.


I let my girlfriend bring her new puppy (Peggy) over to stay with us for the night. I thought it would be OK, seeing as my cat (Dotty) has grown up with a dog since birth. Back when I lived at my house, I owned a Labrador (Jack), and a cat called Holly. Now Holly was, truth be told, a bit of a hussy. Before I had her neutered, she would spend all night “entertaining” all the local tomcats. It would get so bad that they would all gang up and form a kind of male feline barbershop quartet and sing outside my house, trying to lure her outside. There would be about four of them, singing and tap dancing away into the night. She would sit preening by the window as they tried their best to entice her, but she never gave in to them. She was very much like Beyonce in that respect. An independent woman.

But then there came the day that brought shame on my house. She fell pregnant by one of them. I didn’t know she was pregnant. I had no idea in fact until the day I came home from work and found her spinning round in circles, highly agitated and trying to get my attention.

MIAAAAAROOOOOW! She cried at me.

Now if this had been a Lassie movie, I could have immediately recognised what that cry meant, and rushed out and saved the boy trapped in the well/mineshaft/from Indians. But sadly this wasn’t a Lassie film, and I was by no means clever enough to figure out what her problem was. Well, not until her lower half convulsed and a tiny, beautiful, little kitten popped out. Then I finally got it. Dotty was born. And immediately fell in love with my dog. They were inseparable, as you can see. I didn't get a look in.



Sadly, since then I believe Holly was either run over or injured, as she never came home one night and I never saw her again. It was terrible, but that is one of the risks of owning cats. They are fearless adventurers that have no regard for personal safety. And quite often they can go and break your heart as well. So Dotty was without a mum. But that was OK, I raised her as my very own. I taught her how to hunt, clean, but I drew the line at breastfeeding.

As personal circumstances changed, I moved to a flat and had to let Jack live with a relative as it wasn’t fair on him being cooped up in a tiny apartment. He’s doing fine (if a little plumper than I last left him), and I’m looking forward to the day when I can have him back (hopefully next year). But Dotty came with me and we started a new life of domestic bliss. She is the perfect flat cat as she has no interest in what goes on outside. All she is interested in is eating, cleaning herself, and flirting if she meets any new men. But all in all we get along great. She lets me know when she wants food; I let her know when it’s not OK to claw my new sofa.

But then on Saturday I had to spoil it by bringing Peggy over.

The puppy was pleased to see me. But then again, puppies always are. They are pleased about everything. From seeing a new person, to having a new shoe to chew, everything kicks off a nonstop party in a puppy’s world.

I walked outside to greet them both, and immediately had her clawing at my leg and trying to lick my face (the puppy, not my girlfriend, just in case you thought we greeted each other like that) My good mood was increased even further by this. How can you not be in a good mood by having something that pleased to see you?

You can if you’re a cat.

I assumed from Dotty having lived with, and loved, her own dog, she might be tolerant of this one. Sadly I was wrong.

Dotty normally rushes to the door whenever anybody comes through it, and this time it was no exception. Though when she saw what was sitting there on a lead, she screeched to a halt and back peddled so much I thought she was going to turn inside out. With a look that screamed WHAT THE F**K IS THAT?, she shot off in a grey blur, closely followed by a brown blur of puppy.

So for the next few hours we had Peggy deciding that this new furry thing was going to be her plaything, even if it was trying to scratch her eyes out. The cat managed to achieve the impossible by actually traversing the whole length of the flat, room to room, without actually putting a paw on the ground. The tops of wall cabinets, fridges, sofas, radiators, all were used with stunning effect. At one point she seemed to channel The Matrix and leap over the dog from the sofa to the dining room table. Backwards. It was hard not to mentally applaud her for doing this.

And then Dotty disappeared. Vanished. She was in the flat somewhere, but as to where I had no idea. I half expected her to leap out ninja style and attack me for bringing this small demon into our world. But she didn’t. She just hid. And waited.

Eventually Peggy tired out and collapsed on the sofa. Now I have to mention that this is one of the most flatulent dogs I have ever met. She is so full of gas you could probably pick her up and squeeze a rather stirring rendition of Auld Lang Syne out of her. And when she sleeps, this is the time she starts emitting the foulness. The person sitting nearest her notices it at first. You see their face scrunch up and you know that the all powering stench is coming your way and there will be no escaping it. So as you are both convulsed over, trying to gasp clean air through your mouth so you can’t actually smell it, the puppy will have a look on its face as if to say, my work here is done.

We thought it would be best to let her sleep on the sofa, and headed off to bed ourselves. At about one in the morning, I awoke to find something licking the small of my back. It was the puppy. Now if this was some dodgy 70’s UK sitcom, I obviously would have thought it was my girlfriend being amorous and much hilarity would have ensured. Instead in my sleep filled state I thought I was being sexually assaulted by a midget with a beard.

“Wha fuh?” I mumbled, pulling back the bed covers. Peggy looked up at me with an expression that said, It’s early, I’m up. Let’s play!

I leapt out of bed and went to turn the light on. Before I did so, I almost screamed out in terror as I saw two furious looking green eyes glaring at me from out of my wardrobe. I had found the cat.

I tapped Kates on the shoulder, and forced out the word “Dog” from my sleep muddled mouth, pointing at the furry bundle of joy bounding about on the bed, and let her return it safely to the other room whilst I collapsed face first on the bed cover..

About an hour later, I was the one getting a tap on the shoulder.

“Your snoring is really bad tonight” Kate said, roughly translated as “Can you sleep on the sofa?”

So muttering something about “This is my flat/bloody animals keeping me awake/poxy sofa” I stumbled into the living room, passing the puppy, who jumped up on the warm spot I left on the bed and promptly fell asleep. I swear I could hear the cat sniggering from inside the wardrobe.

I finally dropped off, but got woken up again about half hour later by something biting my ears. The puppy was back and had joined me on the sofa, and was now lying on my back, nibbling my ear lobes.

“Kate! Dog!” I cried out.

Kate appeared in the doorway, sleepy eyed.

“She just likes you” she mumbled, picking the dog up and returning it to its blanket.

“Need sleep.” I groaned back. I thought I would chance my arm and sneak back into bed, my bed.

But yet again I get awoken by the tickle of whiskers and something licking my feet. By then I was too tired to complain, and just tried to move various bits of my body every time they got licked. But this of course now looked like a game. I had no idea where the next one was coming from. Nose. Ear. Knee. Toes. Belly button. All were victims to this relentless licking. I was wriggling around in bed faster than an epileptic at a rave.

“Kate! Dog!” I cried out into the night. The precious night, where blessed sleep normally occurs.

“I’ll take her home.” Kate replied, gathering up her bits. I was too tired to argue and just fell back into bed.

So the next day I had to try and convince my girlfriend that I did indeed love her dog and enjoyed having her over (which I honestly do), and also contend with one incredibly pissed off cat, who made it quite clear she was annoyed by actively cleaning her genitals every time I entered the room. She can be very childish sometimes.

My next pet is going to be a hamster by the way.

*As you may have guessed, I have totally given up on the idea of not writing about myself. I haven't been able to stop rabbiting on about my life lately. That still doesn't mean I think it's interesting though......If you do want to read something interesting, check out this blog by  Whisperingwriter .It's truly brilliant.*

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi : ) I saw your comment on Matt's page about wanting the Bear to rip the kids head off one time and I LAUGHED so hard : ) I just had to come over and say hi! Your cat is adorable! I am sorry she is mad! Puppies are so much work. My son keeps saying he wants one, but I just don't know if I can handle all that work! Great post! Nice to meet you! Good luck with future cat and dog visits!

AiringMyLaundry said...

First of all, thank you so much for the shout out. I'm flattered. And I happen to think your blog IS interesting.

Your poor kitty! I love cats. Dogs sort of creep me out. I imagine if we brought a dog in the house that our cat would flip out too and be like, "MEEEOOOOOW" and leave "presents" on the floor for us to clean up. He does that when he's upset..

hope said...

Oh...my sides...they ache. Oh...stop. I can't take this. If I laugh any harder I won't be able to type. The midget with the beard almost did me in. As long as you keep being this funny, I don't care how many stories you write as a supporting cast member. :)

Okay, I'm the dog person who tolerates cats. Hey, Grandma had the Siamese from hell and I had the battle scars to prove it. All I had to do was walk in the room and that evil hussy singled me out.

We have 2 male chocolate Labs...I don't know which is worse, the farting or the snoring like a lumber jack. But I wouldn't trade them for anything. I hope your cat's coping skills doesn't include puppy murder...for your sake. You seem to young to be bludgeoned while you sleep by an angry girl friend.

Here's wishing you at least a good nap! :)

The Peach Tart said...

I loved the story. Peggy is a most unusual name for a dog. Hopefully your cat has forgiven you and is snuggling with you on the bed soon so you can get a good night's sleep.

Anonymous said...

You can't not write about yourself. Give up now - and don't worry about it anyway.

You're not boring, you write nicely - I see no problems here.

Dan said...

Life with Kaishon- Thank you for the comment, and for stopping by. Give in to your son, every kid needs a dog growing up in their life. But if you do, please don’t blame me if your shoes get chewed up......

WW- No need to say thanks. I love your blog. As for your cat? I do the same thing when I'm upset.

Hope- Labs are notorious for the farting. Jack used to sound like a brass orchestra at some points. Dotty has calmed down now. I woke up to her sprawled over my chest this morning. Bless.

The Peach Tart- Thank you for the kind comment. She seems a bit better now, though she doesn't run to the door anymore. Hope to see you around again.

Matt- Thanks Matt. If it does, let me know I will write some more bobbbins about zombies.

Lorenza said...

Do you want also Max my German Shepherd ? I can fly him tomorrow... I am sure he'll have fun with you guys...

Lorenza

JennyMac said...

I love your animals with people names! And Peggy could NOT be cuter. Poor kitty..I hope she gets over it. That is a no fun night o' no sleep though. Hope you get some shut eye soon.

ladytruth said...

A puppy is almost like someone else's kid: it's great to have them over for a visit, but when naptime comes (yours, not the kid) you want peace and quiet. Puppies don't believe in peace and quiet. It's not in their vocabulary, big surprise. Life with a dog is priceless though and my maltese still wakes me up the same way he did when he was a puppy: staring my eyes open with his superpowers and slowly sliding over, tail wagging, for a "good morning! let me clean your face" licking episode. Did I just write about myself in this comment? Nah, who cares? Someone has to, right? ;)

Dan said...

Lorenza- As much as I love German Shepherds, if I introduced it to my cat, I feel only one of us would make it out of the flat alive. And it wouldn't be me.

JennyMac- You should have met my rabbit, Graham Masterton III. I have it all to do again on Sat. The dog is coming back....

Ladytruth- Nothing better than dog slobber first thing in the morning, is there? I used to love it when you feed them first thing, half asleep, and a bit of dog food lands between your toes. No better way to start the day I feel?