Thursday, March 10, 2011

I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER

ELLIOT'S WATCHING SOMETHING ON ANIMAL PLANET
ELLIOT AND RUSTY
DON'T LET THOSE INNOCENT FACES FOOL YOU

Rusty seems to be settling in well although there have been a few little altercations. On Sunday morning, Cody and Rusty had a disagreement about something and I broke one of my own rules of cat care, which is to not try to pull one angry cat away from another unless one is being harmed and/or I'm wearing gloves or toting a thick towel to throw over the offender. Rusty was the offender as far as I could tell, but Cody, who is about half Rusty's size, was getting the worst end of the deal. Since Rusty and I have re-bonded, I thought he'd respond positively if I simply reached down and picked him up and took him away from the area. What was I thinking?
Cats will fuss with each other now and then and a simple bout of hissing is usually nothing to worry about, but this was more than hissing. Blows were landed and high-pitched screeching was heard throughout the house. The other cats scattered and hid from the noises and even the dog-who-hates-cats was trembling. I went fearlessly to the location of the scuffle and reached my hand down to pick up Rusty, who whirled in my direction and promptly slashed me with an extended set of claws. Now that hurt. I should have known better. Rusty stopped fussing with Cody, but I was shocked since I'd thought he and I were friends. He came to his senses quickly, but my hand was already red and dripping, because of my instant reaction to the cat fight. It was totally my fault I ended up being scratched. I don't like it when the cats fuss but I won't allow any of them to hurt each other even though I try to allow them to settle things themselves most of the time.
I finally picked up Rusty because I wanted him to know he wasn't the boss. I have to admit it was a toss-up for a few moments, as to who was going to win the war of wills. Rusty is a stubborn little cuss but he underestimated how stubborn I can be. What I should have done was pitch a little water his way when he was fussing with Cody. That would have disarmed them both, neither would have been harmed, and I would not be wearing a bandage on my hand. Oh the things we realize in hindsight.

5 comments:

Cat Nap Inn Primitives said...

those scratches can hurt..I hate it when ours fight..glad it wasn't a bad one..take care of your hand.;)

Merilyn said...

I hope you heal quickly and the would isn't too deep! I have a little water spritzer and whenever my little darlings get a bit too excited they all get a spray of water, stops them and I don't get into too much trouble myself LOL! It's only natural to try and step in but sometimes our interventions are misinterptreted by our furry little mates....better luck next time!!!

Anonymous said...

Sorry about your battle scar. Our two DO NOT get along, so fights are frequent. The little one can be sprayed with water until she is dripping, she is not bothered at all by it. We have found that for some reason they will both run (usually if different directions) if we shake a plastic grocery bag near them. We keep one in nearly every room so they are handy.

You do such wonderful things for your rescues. Since every cat thinks they are the center of the universe they have no idea how lucky they are to have found you.

April

My Primitive Creations by Tonya said...

LOL... now let me see Yes i am very familiar with this situation... I think somehow it is the mother instinct in us that makes us the fools to reach down to save the day only to find we are suddenly te target of some angry Claws... My cats are total lovers with me but let me interfer and they both let me know that it is between them not me and I best butt out or I shall pay... so I giggle at your tale with total abandon to the fact taht we have all made this mistake all to offen.. and to think I have a water bottle at had for just such occassions...

Smile
Tonya

Linda ★ Parker's General said...

I am so sorry that you got hurt. When our dogs get into it, they will not stop. We always have to break them up and one or both of us gets bit. They are bred to fight to the death-badger dogs. It's like some switch gets flipped and they go nuts. I am so glad it doesn't happen often.
Hope you cleaned it well. I don't want you to get cat scratch fever!
★Linda★