Our next-door neighbours have got a new cat. They've had him about a month and he's 4 months old, just being allowed out for the first time over Christmas. He's a tabby with white feet and he's going to be very handsome when he's fully grown. At the moment he's like a gangly teenager, all legs and big ears.
Jeanette was scared to let him out because he hasn't been neutered yet (he's in for that treat in February). She's never had a tom before but I assured her he's too young to spray his territory or to have lascivious thoughts about queens - or, if he has them, to do anything about them - I've had many tom-cats so I know what's what in that department. She also worries because they had 2 lovely little queens, Fluffy and Smokey, a couple of years ago and both of them were killed by cars within 12 months. She wasn't going to have another cat but this one had no home to go to and - well, she's like me, couldn't resist.
He's got a good home there, mum, dad and 2 doting girls, there's just one thing wrong - they've called the poor thing "Tinky". Now I've had cats all my life and, I can say this hand-on-heart, none of them has ever had a soppy name. Over the last 30 years we've had Murphy (a magnificent large ginger, the most loving cat there ever was), Max (a small tabby "burger" who delighted in clawing unwary legs), Marlon (actually Nik's cat - an amiable, elderly "rescue" cat, named after Marlon Brando, who just wanted a warm fireside to quietly moult and dribble by) and now Maddie, our large tabby-and-white queen, of undeterminate age, who adopted us 6 years ago, is sweet-natured, has a shoe-fetish and adores Laura.
Cats are proud, independent creatures. They need proud names - not namby-pamby ones like Tinky. I once knew a huge ginger tom, with half an ear missing and covered in battle scars, who rejoiced in the name of Twinkle. I think it was the feline equivalent of Johnny Cash's "A Boy Named Sue". That cat had had to prove himself.
Anyway, Tinky is known in our house, inevitably, as Tinky Winky. Being next door he has visited us, daily, since he has been allowed out. There's a pattern to his visits, let me set the scene:-
Maddie will be out in our garden, sitting on or under the bench in the corner, by the honeysuckle, where she can watch the birds. There's a 4" gap between the fence that separates us from next door and the back fence, I grew the honeysuckle there to cover it. The gap is perfectly accessible to a cat and Tinky Winky squeezes through it with ease. He spies Maddie, dozing, and immediately jumps on her with all the glee of a kitten. Maddie jumps up in horror, spits and boxes his ears then runs towards the house. Tinky Winky runs after her. Maddie stops and turns round to spit again. Tinky stops and looks surprised, then jumps on her tail. Maddie hurtles to the French window and demands to come in, I open the door and she leaps inside. So does Tinky.
We usually have 5 minutes or so when Tinky hurls himself round the sitting room, launching himself on Maddie every now and then, while she looks aghast and cuffs his ears. He avails himself of Maddie's scratching post and her catnip mice and has almost immolated himself on the gas fire, more than once, which leads me to suspect Jeanette never has hers switched on.
As soon as I am able to catch him Tinky is put outside again. He doesn't really think that's very fair and sits on my patio looking in through the window with a "What did I do?" expression on his face. To be honest, he could stay all day as far as I'm concerned but it's not fair on my neighbours and he has to learn he's only a visitor here.
Maddie gives this great show of spitting and cuffing but, I've noticed, she doesn't cuff with the claws out and she doesn't put the hackles up. She seems to be tolerating this "teenage" nuisance as just that - a bit of a pest. It will be interesting to observe them, in the future, and see what sort of relationship develops. I'll keep you posted.
Jeanette was scared to let him out because he hasn't been neutered yet (he's in for that treat in February). She's never had a tom before but I assured her he's too young to spray his territory or to have lascivious thoughts about queens - or, if he has them, to do anything about them - I've had many tom-cats so I know what's what in that department. She also worries because they had 2 lovely little queens, Fluffy and Smokey, a couple of years ago and both of them were killed by cars within 12 months. She wasn't going to have another cat but this one had no home to go to and - well, she's like me, couldn't resist.
He's got a good home there, mum, dad and 2 doting girls, there's just one thing wrong - they've called the poor thing "Tinky". Now I've had cats all my life and, I can say this hand-on-heart, none of them has ever had a soppy name. Over the last 30 years we've had Murphy (a magnificent large ginger, the most loving cat there ever was), Max (a small tabby "burger" who delighted in clawing unwary legs), Marlon (actually Nik's cat - an amiable, elderly "rescue" cat, named after Marlon Brando, who just wanted a warm fireside to quietly moult and dribble by) and now Maddie, our large tabby-and-white queen, of undeterminate age, who adopted us 6 years ago, is sweet-natured, has a shoe-fetish and adores Laura.
Cats are proud, independent creatures. They need proud names - not namby-pamby ones like Tinky. I once knew a huge ginger tom, with half an ear missing and covered in battle scars, who rejoiced in the name of Twinkle. I think it was the feline equivalent of Johnny Cash's "A Boy Named Sue". That cat had had to prove himself.
Anyway, Tinky is known in our house, inevitably, as Tinky Winky. Being next door he has visited us, daily, since he has been allowed out. There's a pattern to his visits, let me set the scene:-
Maddie will be out in our garden, sitting on or under the bench in the corner, by the honeysuckle, where she can watch the birds. There's a 4" gap between the fence that separates us from next door and the back fence, I grew the honeysuckle there to cover it. The gap is perfectly accessible to a cat and Tinky Winky squeezes through it with ease. He spies Maddie, dozing, and immediately jumps on her with all the glee of a kitten. Maddie jumps up in horror, spits and boxes his ears then runs towards the house. Tinky Winky runs after her. Maddie stops and turns round to spit again. Tinky stops and looks surprised, then jumps on her tail. Maddie hurtles to the French window and demands to come in, I open the door and she leaps inside. So does Tinky.
We usually have 5 minutes or so when Tinky hurls himself round the sitting room, launching himself on Maddie every now and then, while she looks aghast and cuffs his ears. He avails himself of Maddie's scratching post and her catnip mice and has almost immolated himself on the gas fire, more than once, which leads me to suspect Jeanette never has hers switched on.
As soon as I am able to catch him Tinky is put outside again. He doesn't really think that's very fair and sits on my patio looking in through the window with a "What did I do?" expression on his face. To be honest, he could stay all day as far as I'm concerned but it's not fair on my neighbours and he has to learn he's only a visitor here.
Maddie gives this great show of spitting and cuffing but, I've noticed, she doesn't cuff with the claws out and she doesn't put the hackles up. She seems to be tolerating this "teenage" nuisance as just that - a bit of a pest. It will be interesting to observe them, in the future, and see what sort of relationship develops. I'll keep you posted.