Can’t we all just get along…. Part II.

I was quite surprised, even pleased, that our cat Boris and Sister-in-law Joan’s dog Joli got along as well as they did during our month long stay in Vero Beach. The animosity between the species is legendary and much concern was expressed as to whether our visit with Joan and Phil would be a pleasant stay or a constant problem keeping them from each others throats. But after their first meeting and a to-be-expected initial expression of contempt for the presence of the other, they wound up getting along quite well.

During our first stay in Austin in April, we made no attempt to let Boris and Mike's cat Molly become friends. Basically, Boris hardly ever left our bedroom. During this current visit however, Boris has pretty much had free reign to go wherever she wished. Now this hasn’t presented any problems because Molly usually stays outside all day in the newly enclosed patio while Boris remains in the main part of the house. However, for about the past week, we’ve experimented with having both cats in the house at the same time. Boris has had no problem. She seems to have decided that if a dog wasn’t going to give her a problem, then why get all that concerned about a cat. Molly, on the other hand, has had the harder time making the adjustment. In typical cat fashion, she hissed and growled and generally expressed her displeasure with another feline being in her “turf”. But, as the past few days have gone by, she seems to be getting more used to the situation. Tonight, the two were literally nose to nose but nothing of any serious nature transpired. Molly did hiss a little but then turned around, stretched a big stretch, and walked away. Now, you must understand that a cat will not turn its back on another cat if it has any concern that the other cat presents any kind of a threat. Molly must somehow sense that a 19 year old, deaf and arthritic spinster like Boris is certainly nothing to fear.

So, as Boris and Joli didn’t necessarily become best buddies, I also don’t expect Boris and Molly to get to the point of sharing a wad of catnip together while watching “Animal Planet” on TV. But if they can at least refrain from any serious bouts of feline fisticuffs, then maybe there’s a lesson there and hope yet for mankind. We could certainly learn a thing or two from out critter friends.