Not Only That, But We Get To Have Fur All Over Everything!

As I relate the ongoing drama to those who thought it was a good idea to get a second cat--no, not a good idea: absolutely essential--I'm beginning to understand that this abhorrent behavior is standard for multi-cat households. I thought I was crazy. These people delight in cats attacking each other every 45 minutes? They enjoy the challenge of coordinating cat meals so that they take 20 minutes of my precious pre-work preparation so now I start the day at 6:00 a.m. in order to get to work on time?

Maybe they've inhaled too much of the tainted cat litter which we now clean twice a day from our $1,500 Tibetan rug because both cats became constipated when I suggested they share a single box in the "cat bathroom."

"Oh, my male cat bites my passive female cat in the stomach or ear until she howls at least once a day," my cat-friendly neighbor friend admitted last night. And this is good for whom? "Is there blood? Is there fur?" my at-work cat guru asked when I reported my woes. "If there's no blood or fur, you're fine."

What????

I pictured two kitties licking each other and lying at our feet while we relaxed in the living room with Brahms on the radio. Not Stella grabbing Maggie and trying to gut the poor thing with her back paws as though she were a catnip toy.

Granted, the chasing seems harmless and is the exercise we were hoping Stella would get. And even the attacks appear to be claws-in. But sometimes when we hear a scream and see the cornered cat leap at the aggressor, I want to don my pith helmet with the built-in Jungle Cam. I don't know. Maybe if we live with this long enough it will seem fine and we will be one with the Cat People who say things like, "you definitely need another kitty. The added work is barely noticeable and the rewards are definitely worth it."