The Very Domestic Political Climate

[bloodyrosemccoy]

I think there’s been some sort of attempted coup shattering the uneasy détente between the cats.

Despite being littermates, Charlotte and Fern get along like Klingons and Romulans. There’s lots of posturing, growling, scheming, and skirmishes, but they’ve worked out an uneasy definition of each side’s territories, and the neutral zones (food dishes, doors, litterbox, porch) are well-established areas where they warily pass each other with elaborate strategies.

This was all well and good until I moved rooms.

It’s the classic clash. The Room In Which Amelia Lives is Charlie’s territory, since I belong to her. My bed and blanket are also hers. However, most of the Downstairs is Fern’s, so when I moved down there—began sleeping on a bed in a Downstairs room, along with my blanket—it confused the whole system.

And now, the Battle For The Bed has begun.

Lately I’ve been catching Fern in Charlie’s designated spot on my bed, daring me to comment. When I was upstairs, you couldn’t get her on my bed with a bowl of Fancy Feast, because by god it was Charlie’s spot. But my move has completely rewritten the rules, and my room is undergoing a shifting of borders on like it’s Poland. I never know who is in charge from one day to the next.

Frankly, I’d prefer that Charlie win. It’s guilty favoritism there, but I have my reasons. Charlie has better manners—she stays off the pillow and away from open clothes drawers. Fern likes to sleep on the dolls’ bunk bed, my pillow, my pajamas, etc.—and she is, er, not as clean as Charlie. Altogether, I can handle Charlie, but Fern trails allergens like Pigpen from Peanuts, and my face tends to try to seal itself shut when she’s around.

So yes, I’m not exactly neutral, but it’s making me wonder if I shouldn’t get Fern a kitty bed. It seems mean to kick her out just because she makes me sneeze, but it might be an acceptable peace agreement.

I’ll just have to see.

Comments

[childthursday.livejournal.com]

I have found pet bed make excellent deterrents. We put one on the couch and one on the blanket chest, and neither cat will sleep there, not even if you rubbed it in catnip-marinated salmon.

I recommend this one, but in microfleece, which isn't shown on the site, and is twice as expensive.

*tongue is in cheek*

[pixel39.livejournal.com]

The late lamented Striped Cat of Chaos (in the icon) actually used the pet bed I bought for her, but she liked defined spaces to the point where if you placed a paperback book in the middle of the otherwise empty floor she would sit on it.

It actually became a game--could we find something so small that she would no longer consider it a defined space? IIRC an Altoids tin was too small.

[childthursday.livejournal.com]

Heh. I am imagining a kitten balanced on an Altoids box now, and the image is too adorable for words.

The only thing that seems to attract our (long hair, very fluffy) cat seems to be fresh (black) dry cleaning.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

Hee, yes, the notorious failure on the part of pets to appreciate pet products could make trouble.

Thing is, while Charlie would probably have no interest in a cat bed, Fern seems to really like boxes, hampers, and cubbies. I figure she might like a little bed--it could be as simple as a crate with a pillow in it. I'd probably toss in an old pair of pajamas of mine just to make it enticing.

[gwalla.livejournal.com]

The dolls' bunk bed, eh? Is that a miastreehouse post I hear off in the distance?

(hint hint)

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

Maybe after Halloween. I've got a costume and a half left to go and then I shoot the album. But it's always fun to do something with dolls and giant cats.

[dark-phoenix54.livejournal.com]

Female cats crack me up. Males are basically big doofuses and don't seem to care about who is doing what so long as there is food and a warm spot. The females, though, watch every stroke and pet everyone gets and are constantly strategizing.

Yeah, kitty bed sounds like a good thing to try, but she'll probably ignore it.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

I think it'd work for this cat because she already loves taking naps in boxes, hampers, and cubbies. I could probably make her a box with a pillow in it and she'd be all for it.

Yeah, female cats are tough. You should've seen the sparks flying when the rabbit was around, too--she had an alliance with Charlie. Fern got kicked and nipped a lot.

[dark-phoenix54.livejournal.com]

But! You must make the cat think using the box to sleep in is HER idea. If you put her in it, or try to coax her into it, she will scorn the bed forever.

[gwalla.livejournal.com]

Icon love.

[nobleplatypus]

My cat is pretty awesome about using the kitty beds I've bought for him. He's also a big fan of cardboard scratching mats.

[viizou.livejournal.com]

Well, only one thing left to do: you'll have to add another floor to your house.