My Cats

By Kathy Dobson
Halifax North Library Adult Learning Program

When Snowball was a kitten, Furball looked after Snowball as if he was one of hers. When Furball wasn’t feeling good Snowball went over to where she was laying and laid beside her. He tried to wash her but she wasn’t in the mood. She hissed at him so he backed off and watched her from a distance. Snowball did not want to be attacked. Furball didn’t like going to the vet’s, she didn’t like the back and forth. When I was up there the animal doctor suggested that I separated their food dishes. He said that she wasn’t getting enough to eat so I did and it worked! She started feeling better in a week or so. Snowball didn’t give up on her. He waited until he could sense that she was feeling better. Things are slowly getting better with Furball, although she still hisses at Snowball now and then. Snowball has always thought Furball was his mother.

Mother cats instinctively push their kittens away when they are old enough to fend for themselves. Sometimes a kitten stays with the mother cat and they have to adjust but they never do completely. Snowball tried to be friends with Mittens but Mittens doesn’t want any part of his friendship. Cats are very much like people – they like their own space!