My dog is a pacifist.
She’s a gentle soul who loves everyone. She wouldn’t harm a fly.
But one critter in our neighborhood brings out the worst in Honey.
I call him Death Kitty 2000.
Cats Honey Loves
Cats rule our neighborhood.
Most of them quietly walk away when we approach. A few arch their backs or hiss. And a couple become friends.
A black kitten used to follow us on our walks. Our neighbor cat, Arthur, will hang out on the porch and greet us as we leave for our walk. And I’ve organized a friendly introduction with a curious cat around the corner.
Whether the cat likes us or not, Honey always shows friendly interest with a calm wag of her tail. Well, almost always.
A friend for Honey?
The One Cat Honey Hates
There is one cat in the neighborhood Honey hates. And I have some suspicions as to why.
This cat lives with one of Honey’s boyfriends (my puppy girl is sweet, but also a little slutty). And he’s a killer.
That’s why I call him Death Kitty 2000.
Not Death Kitty, but she plays one on Flickr.
Death Kitty leaves a trail of destruction.
I regularly find rat and mice corpses on the sidewalk in front of his house. I think he was responsible for the dead pigeon Honey swallowed when she was a puppy. And there’s an ominous pile of feathers in my backyard.
Look what we found in our yard today. Either pigeons are spontaneously combusting or Death Kitty 2000 was here.
Honey smells Death Kitty’s blood lust.
If Death Kitty is lurking in the bushes near our yard, Honey will bark a warning and take off running toward the fence to chase the kitty off.
Is this what Honey sees when Death Kitty appears in the bushes?
The Other Side Of Sweet
I felt shock the first time I watched Honey chase off her kitty enemy. I’ve never seen her react so violently to any creature.
But now I really appreciate her hatred for Death Kitty 2000. It reminds me how complex her emotional life is. And to never take her for granted.
Besides, isn’t everything a little sweeter next to a little spice?
Your Turn: Has your dog ever surprised you by doing something really out of character?
Photo credits: (cat in garden) Simon & His Camera and (tiger) dboy via photopin cc. Click on the images to learn more about the photographers.
The first thing that pops into my mind was when Bailie swallowed the headband on our walk a few weeks ago. Thank dog she puked it back up five days later. Katie and I are pretty predictable, but Bailie is always out to surprise us!
That must have been a long 5 days waiting to see that headband again.
Bailie certainly keeps you on your toes.
“Has your dog ever surprised you by doing something really out of character?” Callie did one night…
Callie generally is VERY patient with both Shadow and Ducky. She will put up with them taking toys, getting in her face, etc. But one night Ducky was being an obstinate, obnoxious, pain in the butt. She would keep trying to “hump” poor Callie while she was sleeping. Normally Callie just ignores it, but this time? Well, all of a sudden, Callie had had enough – she turned her head and snarked at Ducky so loudly that she startled all of us. Then put her head down and went back to sleep. Ducky didn’t bother her for the rest of the night. After Sam & I recovered from the “shock”, we just laughed. I think I even said “Good for you Callie!”
It sounds like that was just what Ducky needed to hear. Hopefully Callie will speak up for herself any time she really needs to.
Maggie is my surprise child…I’m constantly amazed and pleased when she does something totally dog-like and not fearful.
Some surprises are beautiful. I hope Maggie continues to surprise you every day.
Sounds like Honey is an excellent judge of character!
I must admit I’m kinda relieved. I used to worry that she’d cuddle up with an axe murderer. But maybe this is a good sign. 🙂
That pile of feathers is what it looks like in my yard when a hawk gets a bird.
My dogs are okay with the cats of our house but when the neighbor’s cats were out and about, the pups would bark their butts off. Because there was a fence in between the dogs and the cats, the kitties would calmly stare back and wash themselves, driving my dogs into even more of a frenzy.
Wags (and purrs) from Life with Dogs and Cats.
I would expect Death Kitty to taunt Honey from the other side of the fence. But in truth, he runs like a fiend when Honey barks her first woof.
I think there’s a lot more communication happening here than I can possibly understand.
We have strong evidence that cats are evil and belong in the dark side. Obviously Honey is aware of this. Humans would be smart to learn about the true nature of cats.
Apparently the cats around here are very good at hiding their true natures. Death Kitty is the only one that has attracted her venom. 🙂
Mauja surprised me once. We were at the dog park and she was standing next to me sniffing another dog, when the other dog lunged at her. Now, usually when that happens, Mauja jumps back and walks away. This time, she went into full on attack mode. It was all show as there was no actual effort to make contact with the other dog, but it was the first time she had ever “fought back”. I’m convinced the only reason she did was because I was standing right there. She was protecting me.
Many people have wondered if their “guard” dogs would protect them in case of danger. It sounds like Mauja has your back.
Rumpy always surprises me. Perhaps the most when he minds me despite all the distractions around us. He IS a Malaute, after all! LOL
Many years ago we had a golden who was The Perfect Boy. He never raided garbage, he never counter-surfed, he stayed in his unfenced yard, and his begging was confined to longing looks. But one evening, on a vacation picnic on the beach, he walked up behind my five year old niece and stole a marshmallow from her hand, on the backswing of her arm, so softly that she didn’t even realize it. I’d give a lot to be able to see the sly but somewhat embarrassed look on the dog’s face, and the amazement on my niece’s face when she realized she had no marshmallow in her hand to toast for s’mores.
You made me laugh out loud. How adorable.
I had a similar moment with Honey who is similarly perfectly. She gulped down a peanut butter sandwich I put down on the porch when I was making change for someone during a yard sale. She ignored it for a good ten minutes before she finally decided enough was enough and swiped my sandwich.
Death kitty does sound a little disturbing. Mity loves cats and whenever he sees one he tries to lick them – the one time he succeeded was a brilliant moment, I don’t know who was more shocked the kitty or him!