The Adventures of Cat-Dog!

Nesta the cat moved in to the apartment over the weekend of July 29^th. No one really knew about her, that is to say, there was no evidence of a cat in the building, for the first 5 days. Archie could smell her, but he was with Xoe most of the time and couldnt be bothered.

About 9 days into Nestas arrival at the apartment, she encountered the downstairs Dalmatians. The dog to cat ratio is already 5 to 1, however 3 of those 5 are under 10 pounds each. Its the Dalmatians at 40 pounds each which tip the balance of power in the Threat Quotient for the cat!

On one of the fine afternoons which found me deep in the midst of absolutely nothing, I heard a commotion in the back yard. Within seconds, Nesta came bolting full speed through my kitchen, living room and out onto the front balcony. Hot on her heels was one of the Dalmatians. As Nesta charged past I stood up from my prone position on the couch. In the split second it took me to realize it was the female Dalmatian, Daphne, I could feel both Nesta and Archie looking at me, the only other Alpha Female in the room.

My movement startled Daphne, and she came to a skidding stop at the entrance to the living room from the kitchen.

Archie and I are standing in the middle of the living room, completely amazed. As soon as I made eye contact with Daphne, a mere fraction of a second, she turned around and slowly walked out the back door. No trouble here, she quietly conveyed, my mistake, wrong apartment, so sorry. And down the back steps she went.

From behind my heels, Archie let out a bark. I couldnt criticize because I was as surprised as he was.

Archie and I immediately turned and looked for Nesta, who never circled back around to the only open door in the apartment. I found her on my front patio wall, perched on all fours, slightly puffed up and completely pissed off. I gently picked her up, being careful of her back claws. We walked very slowly through the apartment and as we passed through the kitchen, she gave a very quiet but very angry growl. I opened her back door and let her jump down into her Kitchen. She poured out of my arms and took off into her apartment. I didnt see the poor thing for another 5 days.

Nesta finally began to sun herself on the back steps, but only at the very top, and only when no one was around. After a couple of days, she let Archie join her at a polite distance in her morning sun bath. This seemed to suit her, because any unauthorized noise, bird or squirrel was given a very fierce bark from Archie. The Anti-Dalmatian Alliance was sealed on the back porch of Casa Appleton.

Archie and Nesta began visiting again in the apartments. Sometimes Nesta would come and perch on the arm of our couch. Other days, Archie would join Nesta in her living room for an afternoon sun bath.

If we were visiting Nesta, she would perch on the back of the couch and watch everyone. Occasionally she would come down to the floor, where Archie would try and play. A bop on the nose from Nesta gave Archie clear instruction that the Alpha in the ADA was clearly Nesta.

Nesta practically became drunk with her new found power. Not only was she in charge of the ADA, but a dog was actually terrified of her. The self confidence in her demeanor were clearly evident.

It wasnt until Archies Nana came to visit that I saw the full impact of Nestas influence on Archie.

Nana has taken up rescuing Boxers. As a result, Archie has two new cousins, Criquette and Paddington. He hates them both. Its the Large Dog Aggression that he continues to carry since his mauling by an Australian Shepherd when he was four years old.

Nana brought Paddington, aka Paddy, to spend the night with us. Archie watched in complete horror as this dog came into his sacred apartment. Archie sat perched on the arm of the chair continuously for 15 hours while Nana and Paddy spent the night.

When I went to his perch to see what was so upsetting, I discovered that from his vantage, he had a birds eye view of the living room and the bedroom. Anywhere Paddy went, Archie could see him.

He refused to give Nana the usual greeting of yipping and licking. She didnt smell right, and that other dogs scent was everywhere! His temperature went up and he laid on the arm of the chair with his head down and looking completely dejected. It was at that point, late in the evening, that I discovered the depth of Archies anger. He had dug his front paws into the arm of the chair so hard that he put a dent in the foam! He was shaking and acting sick. He would not let anyone touch him and ran from everyone except me.

The next night, Nana and Paddy had left and we were getting into bed. Archie refused to go under the covers. When I tried to bring him up to the pillows he jumped away as though his paws were burning. I realized he was so pissed off that Paddington slept in his bed that he wouldnt even sit where Paddy had been on the bed. I had to get the Pink Blanket, place it over the area where Paddington had been, and only then would Archie settle down and go to sleep.

Nesta has taught Archie the fine art of indignation and denial. Any area that was previously lacking a feline flavor in Archies personality has been adequately addressed and corrected, now that Nesta has become Archies pal.

Im not sure Im ready for the Cat-Dog!