Biff!

[desperance]

Mac is the most annoying little cat. He is stubborn to the point of delirium (mine, you understand). I have seen footage of lion-cubs snatching food from their mothers' jaws; so I guess has he. His having appointed me adoptive mother, it follows naturally therefore that my food is his food, and so he is determined to take it from my plate.

It doesn't help, probably, that almost everything I like, he likes too; except chillies not so much, it's Barry who's the chilli fiend.

But anyway, this morning as every morning, there I am with breakfast, and there is Mac trying to help himself. And I start by pushing him away, and he comes back; and I try tossing him off the table, and he comes back; and I end up just biffing his nose as one might a puppy's, only in Mac's case it has no effect, he just keeps coming back.

Barry by this time is also on the table, sitting with conspicuous virtue a foot away, not at all trying to raid my plate. So I am going biff! - biff! - biff! and losing patience all the while, and Mac just keeps coming back -

and suddenly biff! - but that's not me, that's Barry biffing him, full in the face, just like me. And Mac's taken aback for a moment, but then he comes back, and -

Biff!

And, biff! - and so on, until I was done eating, Barry just kept biffing him away. It was kind of wonderful, and I almost choked on giggles-and-toast. And the wonder of it was, Mac didn't retaliate at all. Usually when they squabble he falls upon Barry with teeth&claws and Barry runs away. I guess food changes the equation, or the dynamic.

And then I gave Barry the plate to wash, and Mac came to join in, and Bazza biffed him again a couple of times, till he'd got all the best buttery crumbs for himself. Then he did let the kid join in.

Comments

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

Very interesting. How old are the two cats?

When Barry isn't around you might add hissing to the biffing. I've got my cats trained to that. Makes their eyes go wide and they either hunker down or slink off when I his. You can also resort to "exerting dominance" over the little stinker if he clueless. Depends on his age though.

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

Oh, and very cool story. Barry standing guard.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Barry's about two, two and a bit, and he's been in the house for a year or more. Mac's about a year younger, and been here a month.

Mostly, Mac lords it over Barry, despite being half his weight. Barry's a wuss - except, apparently, where food is the issue...

(Also, Baz is currently fast asleep on the desk here, with a long paw stretched out across the keyboard, and I'm kind of typing around it, and he is determinedly not waking up...)

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

Honey, it's not the food that makes Barry stand up to Mac. It's you. He's protecting you and enforcing your policy on Mac.

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that was my impression too. :)

[desperance.livejournal.com]

I will try the hissing; thanks for that. Tho' Barry hisses at him on a daily basis, and wee Mac doesn't take any notice at all.

How do I 'exert dominance'? Apart from chucking him off, biffing, etc?

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

There are two ways that I resort to when things get out of hand in the house.

First, I will scruff the cat and pick them up like a momma cat does (don't do this if the cat is so heavy that this would hurt them). Then I deposit them somewhere out of the way, turn my back on them and walk off as if they aren't important. This makes them equate you to Mama Cat. Has a so so success rate.

This is going to sound weird, but I swear it works and will make the cat follow you around begging to get back in your good graces. You scruff him and hold him down (so that he's kind of hunkered, not painfully splaid out) and then lean over him real close and get your face next to his head. Give him a little shake, nothing painful just reminding him that you have him under control, and either talk real low and angry or hiss at him.

Don't freak out. It's, uh, a cat thing. I know it sounds weird, but dominant males will fake mating with subordinant (sp?) males to prove their position and this is close enough to it to make the cat go "oh shit".

[farwing.livejournal.com]

That is wonderful. So glad that you have such an able helper! :)

[devonellington.livejournal.com]

Barry's asserting his domination! Good for him!

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Mmph. Only, it seems, when there's food around. An hour later, Mac was threatening to biff him and he was cringeing back, ears flat and hissing like a teakettle, as he does; while Mac's all perky, ears cocked, aren't we having fun?

It's an oddly complex relationship they seem to have, and I haven't really sussed it yet. If I ever do. At least I get to watch at close quarters; and I try to be a good naturalist, and not interfere. It's hard, though...

[kazdreamer.livejournal.com]

I love this story... But then, I absolutely *love* cats. I miss mine so much, but do visit them once a week at my parents' place. Felix and Logan are generally very good at sharing food (but then they are brothers - we got them together when just tiny kittens three years ago); although last time I went round Felix was getting a bit greedy, head taking up the whole dish and all that. Poor Logan couldn't get his nose in the trough, so he sat back and smartly bopped Felix on the head with his paw. Fee was so shocked he pulled his head out of the dish, and Logan promptly dived in. Very clever boy! *g*

[bookzombie.livejournal.com]

Wonderful! I can just picture it. One of our late cats, Demon, used to do the 'persistent to the point of stupidity' thing, but none of the others batted him away...

[guipago.livejournal.com]

that was HILarious!

Oh the adventures of the cats in the house :)