Sibling Rivalry

I sit in the lounge with Lindt at my feet, one cat on my lap and one on the cushion next to me, and I realise how lucky I am to have these pets who are so loving and so loved.

Lindt will be one next week – it’s hard to believe that she has grown so quickly. She is the sweetest natured dog, if somewhat boisterous, and she has fitted into our household as though she has always been here. She loves her walks (and so do we – without her I doubt if we’d have got as fit), she loves her big red rubber bone, she loves my socks and steals them from inside my running shoes. She loves biltong and nuts, and is first in line when I am cutting chicken. She loves Pete most, Raymond (our gardener) next, and Sihle and me somewhere after that. And she really loves the cats, Jingle and Bell. But they don’t love her.

Belly is a funny little cat – soft and cuddly to look at, and ready to cuddle any time that it is cold and you have the heater or the blankie – but mostly very independent. She sleeps on me and moans plaintively when I turn over. If I open a newspaper on the bed, that is the invitation to climb on and turn around till she is sitting on the part I am reading. She treats Lindt with the disdain she thinks all dogs deserve – a hiss and spit, and a claw if she gets too close. Not that it deters Lindt – she will chase and worry and try to engage with Bell any time Bell is down on the floor.

But Jingle is a cat of a different colour. He is a beautiful, big ginger cat. He looks fierce and like a bully – and sometimes he is. But mostly he is a big pussy-cat – a real, needy baby who wants to be snuggled and loved. He’s frightened of the hairdryer, he jumps at any loud noise, he meows at me when I sneeze – but mostly he is there to love and purr and pat and paw me when my hands are under the blankets. And if I pay no attention, he claws me. He’s also an excellent alarm clock – Pete often wakes to a ginger face staring at him until he gets up and feeds him.
Jingle HATED Lindt when she arrived – he had tolerated Nimbus, our previous dog, but Lindt came in all cute and little and got all the attention, and Jing was incensed. Even though he hated her, he would never leave us alone with her, just in case we were paying her too much attention. He will stand his ground when she bounces like Tigger at him, and hisses, yowls and lashes out.

But lately, there’s been a change. Maybe Lindt is less Tigger-like, maybe Jing has got tired of fighting, but he is tolerating Lindt more and more. Lindt often licks him, and he emerges with spiky ginger hair around his ears. He sits and tolerates her affection, until he’s tired of it, and then he storms off. Sometimes he is still aggressive – Lindt has a scab on her eyelid where Jing connected with a claw – but they are closer to being friends than enemies.

Now they both want to see that the other doesn’t get more than their fair share of attention, but they are on the way to being friends. I hope the friendship grows.