A happy coincidence

This is kinda strange, a tale of how two entirely separate incidents joined forces at just the right time to avert a small cat-astrophe! It is a tale in two parts and was originally going to be two entirely separate posts until something happened this morning to bring them together.

Part 1:

A number of weeks ago I was asked to design a blog for a lady in Daytona Beach, I won't identify her to save her blushes, if she wishes to identify herself in comments then that is her perogative for she knows who she is. Anyways, along the route of emails that always accompanies the designing of a template, myself and this anonymous lady discovered we had much in common and became friends. At around the same time the famous annual 'Biketoberfest' was in progress in Daytona, an event that bikers worldwide, myself very much included, would almost kill to be able to attend just once in their life. My aforementioned friend set about making it as real as possible for me and repeatedly made special trips to where the action was so that she could send me photographs and video clips. I was treated to a whole week of 'almost being there' courtesy of this lady, it was really as close as I could ever get without the flight and for me something almost fantastical made possible by this thing we call technology and someone who I had only known a few weeks. Once the week was over she then went one step further and against my protestations that she had already done more than enough, she promised to mail me a genuine real American Biketoberfest t-shirt....for me that was pretty 'wow'.....and until today, that was where one part of this story ends.

Part 2:

Late last night, having had Tilly kitten prevent us achieving even one whole undisturbed nights sleep since we got her, and she seeming to have settled down completely, I decided just for one night I would shut both cats out of the bedroom. The last I saw of them at 2 am, as I staggered off to bed, they were asleep, together, actually touching and seeming like any fears of dislike of one another were well and truly over. They have spent day after day playing, they eat together and Ditto even allows her to attempt to suckle from her still without any retribution. We went to bed, not a cry was uttered from Tilly .....all seemed well in gemmak's-ville.

Hmmmmmm.....famous last words eh?

I woke this morning to what appeared to be peace and quiet, I got up, ventured into the living room and found that things were not all they seemed. Tilly had at some point deposited a few little 'parcels' around the living room, ah well I thought, it is her first accident and she has had a slightly upset tummy and I set about the delightful cleaning process. My troubles were just beginning. En route to gather cleaning paraphernalia I discovered Ditto, looking most unhappy, jammed in a corner of the hallway, as I advanced on her to see why, I was met instantly by a 'wild cat', striking out, growling, spitting and fur and tail all on end. Things got considerably worse when she caught sight of Tilly happily trotting toward her for her morning play....Ditto launched at her all claws and teeth, in a state of wildness I have never seen from her before. I hastily interjected, heart pounding a little and removed Tilly, who by now was also attempting her very own, very small version of the 'claws and teeth' performance, which I was on the receiving end of.

And on it continued, Ditto behaving like she had never met Tilly before and even less that she had got on so well with her....my heart sank and I called the vet who confirmed my suspicions, Ditto had interpreted Tilly's little 'accident' as a form of territory marking and had consequently reverted to type and was battling for her 'ground'.

I have to say, as experienced as I am with cats it was really quite harrowing to watch and fazed me quite considerably. The vet said we shouldn't leave them alone and should monitor the situation carefully, Ditto given the size ratio, would be more than capable of seriously injuring Tilly in her current state of mind.

And so, a little saddened that this situation had occurred at all, we spent the morning monitoring the pair of them as they faced one another out, constantly spitting and growling, at one point I was even forced to don my motorcycle gloves to separate them, I know only too well just how seriously a moody cat can lacerate, a cat in this mood is not 'playing' and the worst case I ever came across involved a lady losing a leg as the result of becoming embroiled in breaking up a serious cat fight, and I, once before, dealt with a cat myself that had been injured by a car that was equally stressed and I was more than a little relieved at the time that I had been clad from heat to to in leathers, that small cat ripped through the sleeve of my jacket in one hit!

But I digress. Things were not looking good, we were feeling sad and nothing seemed to be changing. Four hours we watched, we talked calmly to them, we encouraged them and we kept them from doing serious harm and then the strange coincidence occurred that I spoke of at the beginning of this post.

The conclusion:

Someone knocked on the door, it was the postman with a big box addressed to me. To be honest my frame of mind was not it's usual 'oh yipee a parcel self' but I set about opening it. Inside was my gift from my friend in Daytona, only it wasn't just a t-shirt....it was a great heap of wonderful things all relating to the Biketoberfest. T-shirts (plural), tops, posters, magazines, badges, a flag, a beautiful shell off the beach, just masses and masses of stuff, it was like Christmas! I was so surprised and touched I barely noticed Ditto walk into the room and begin to investigate in the bottom of the box. What she found was a cat toy, very impregnated with the cat drug of choice 'cat-nip'. In an instant she hooked it out of the box and began rolling around the floor in a daze with it between her paws. She shredded the packaging having sniffed it in an almost alarmingly addictive manner and gradually fell victim to that very familiar 'stoned' look that any cat parent with a catnip addicted cat knows only too well!

And that was it, she got up, sniffed at Tilly, laid down next to her and behaved as if the entire morning up until that point had not happened! Job done, no careful cat psychology employed, no long drawn out days of hatred.....all it took was a little bit of cat-nip...... and that is where it is such a happy coincidence that these two things came together at just this time, I would never in a million years have thought of getting Ditto 'high' to sort out the situation and restore the shattered peace!

Tilly in the meanwhile is off for her first visit to the vet this evening to sort out her little upset tummy and hopefully prevent a repeat of last nights performance and I for my part just hope that the situation remains as is now between the two of them and peace reigns again.

And to our anonymous benefactor....a massive thank you for my wonderful parcel and for bringing to a very fast end a small war!