Polaris.
So a cat decided to adopt my family.
It's very much not the other way around. Dad's quite allergic to a lot of different pet danders, and especially cats. But we occasionally get cats who either are kept as outdoor pets and wander through the neighborhood, or live in the barns in the fairgrounds, or whatever, and Dad's not averse to patting them on the head and leaving out a can of tuna now and then.
So there's a couple of new cats in town of late; one's definitely a pet belonging to one of the neighbors ... but there's one that, far as we can tell, isn't really owned. And he spends a lot of time wandering around outside the house, approaching family members and occasionally mewing at the windows or doors because he wants in.
He's a little black cat with a single white spot on his chest, so I've taken to calling him Polaris, after the North Star. Very approachable and all, although he has a tendency to wait just outside the door, and if you're not expecting a little blob of blackness right there, it's a bit scary.
So the other night, I wound up watching Polaris get into a dispute with the other new cat. It wasn't a fight per se; both cats stood their ground, with Polaris yowling loudly and the other cat yowling more quietly. Neither cat would attack; Polaris was young and inexperienced, but the other cat was old and slow. So there was a lot of careful posturing and loudness. I think I understand more about international politics now.
It's very much not the other way around. Dad's quite allergic to a lot of different pet danders, and especially cats. But we occasionally get cats who either are kept as outdoor pets and wander through the neighborhood, or live in the barns in the fairgrounds, or whatever, and Dad's not averse to patting them on the head and leaving out a can of tuna now and then.
So there's a couple of new cats in town of late; one's definitely a pet belonging to one of the neighbors ... but there's one that, far as we can tell, isn't really owned. And he spends a lot of time wandering around outside the house, approaching family members and occasionally mewing at the windows or doors because he wants in.
He's a little black cat with a single white spot on his chest, so I've taken to calling him Polaris, after the North Star. Very approachable and all, although he has a tendency to wait just outside the door, and if you're not expecting a little blob of blackness right there, it's a bit scary.
So the other night, I wound up watching Polaris get into a dispute with the other new cat. It wasn't a fight per se; both cats stood their ground, with Polaris yowling loudly and the other cat yowling more quietly. Neither cat would attack; Polaris was young and inexperienced, but the other cat was old and slow. So there was a lot of careful posturing and loudness. I think I understand more about international politics now.