[Previous entry: "I’m NOT Making This Up - HONEST!"] [Next entry: "Just A Bit"]
11/08/2002: "Another Cat Story"
First, a little background: I have hay feeders in the stalls. They are the kind that has a little bunker under the hay holder. It doesn’t keep all the hay from ending up in the shavings, but it helps. I would love to just toss the hay on the floor in the first place, but Miss Ami has a habit of uh, peeing on it if it’s down there. Ewwwwwww! Okay, so I use feeders.
A problem develops because the barn cats like to sleep on the hay in the feeders. The horses do NOT like this. In fact, DJ and Ami will not eat hay that cats have slept on, and it looks like Indy feels the same way. This tends to make the horses a bit hostile when they see cats sitting on the stall rails getting ready to climb into their feeders. The horses tend to get hostile to ANY cats sitting on their stall rails, whether they are heading for the feeder on not. DJ would glare at them and keep coming closer until said cats decided discretion was the better part of valor and left.
This same scenario has begun to play out with Indy too - with a few differences… Yesterday I was grooming Indy and there were cats all over the rails. One of our small black ones - called Itty (as in Itty Bitty) was right by the feeder, and Indy decided that enough was enough. He pinned his ears and lunged, mouth open and teeth bared. I was HORRIFIED, but there wasn’t much I could do - Indy’s teeth were on the kitty’s shoulder before I could even take a breath to scream.
By the time I DID get my breath, Indy had stepped back, and the kitty was still sitting in exactly the same spot. All he had to show for Indy’s “attack” was a slight - very slight - wet spot on his shoulder. Which he proceeded to casually lick off, never budging an inch. Indy ignored him through the rest of the grooming session.
Oh, and Indy has a new thing he does while I’m TRYING to groom Ami. As I posted before, he’s starting to get jealous of any time I spend on her. His new thing? Reaching out and flipping the trash can over. I’ve moved it twice now. SURELY it’s out of his reach! Of course, I said that the first time. And the second… Indy, Indy, Indy.
