Cammie
is as sensitive to the presence of other cats as always. That is to say, she
dislikes their presence and she dislikes them. But I am beginning to discern
some elements characteristic of her behaviour now that she is blind. She is
quick to fall back on the defensive (with hissing and a threatening posture) if
she stumbles into one of her roommates while she is walking through a room or
corridor. She even did so when she bumped into one of those carpetted oblongs
that hang from cat-trees and with which cats are supposed to play.
But
there are certain situations in which the princess does not exhibit her usual
behaviour. I haven’t found a pattern yet, but there are instances which arouse
intrigue, and I am beginning to wonder if her sightlessness may initiate a change
in her attitude. Witness this.
Cammie
was awake. She must have been aware of Josie’s presence, whether by feeling my
Chubs’s proximity or by smell. Yet she tolerated this contact. Furthermore,
when Josie noticed that I was seated near by, her tail started moving. Cammie
shifted position to be out of its way (repeated tapping must be reckoned as
different than constant touch), but she showed no anger or fear.
There
is the possibility that I am reading too much into this. But the loss of vision
must create a great rift between what had been and what is, so it is not
impossible that Cammie may mellow in her attitude toward the other cats. The
odds, after all, can’t be longer than winning the lottery, discovering a cure
for cancer, or getting a raise at work…
Touching!!! Miss Pops is much like Miss Cammie and doesn't like me to touch her when sleeping, yet she likes to be near or snuggled up to me.
ReplyDeleteMaybe by just gently touching Miss Cammie knows how close her friend is to her. I love the way their tales are just barely next to each other and studying the photo, it looks like Josies is friendly reaching out towards the princess.
Maybe she finds it a comfort to know Josie is close by and not a threat, but the moving tail was too much of an annoyance to put up with.
ReplyDeleteAh! Bless!x I think, as they have discovered
ReplyDeletewith humans, if one looses one of their senses,
then the others are enhanced, this must also apply
to animals..after all blind 'wild' animals have
been found/seen surviving with their families,
being helped, to feed etc..!
Give Cammie a few weeks..she'll probably turn out
top dog...ooooops! Sorry! Top cat...HeHe! Bless!x
Smiling here. Those are quite some odds but...you never know!
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see how things progress with her, John. It would be great if her behaviour toward the other cats did mellow, and I suspect those odds are much better than those of winning the lottery! In any case, she's certainly made the adjustment very well, IMO.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I thought, when I read the title of the post, that you meant the hot summer temps had dipped a bit! :-D
Unfortunately - for those like me who dislike very high temperatures - our summer heat has just begun - and it's not really that warm yet: we reached 30 degrees only once so far.
DeleteIt sounds like Cammie realizes she needs help, and Josie is showing her that she is willing to give her the help she needs. I've heard of this happening before - one animal is blind, and another animal becomes a "guide dog", or in this case, a guide cat.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to understand cat behavior so all we can do is watch and see what unfolds!
ReplyDeleteIt may be that it is situational and she will allow more contact when not surprised. One can only hope
ReplyDeleteShe may have decided that some things really aren’t worth a hiss!
ReplyDeletehay ewe galz we did heer it getted a bit kewler in hell ☺☺☺☺☺☺
ReplyDeletewe iz glad dad getted thiz foto evva dentz...N just sayin....but we wood hide it frum de catfather....
;) ♥♥☺☺☺
IMHO, there is nothing wrong with being a bit hopeful!
ReplyDelete