A few months ago I wrote about our terror of a cat, Freddie. His regular exploits include jumping on kitchen counters, stealing every morsel of food not firmly hidden in a sealed container, and creating modern artwork all over the floor with toilet paper, newspaper, cardboard and anything else he can find and tear to shreds. Needless to say, we love him very dearly. But we did begin to despair when Freddie reached adulthood, as we had desperately hoped he would quieten down as he got older. Not so. His increased confidence, size and weight only meant he could wreak even more havoc.
We explained this to friends we had over for lunch one day, as we apologised profusely for Freddie having stolen their bread rolls, trodden in their soup and knocked over their water glasses. But far from commiserating with us, a friend suggested the unthinkable. “Why don’t you get another cat?” she asked. We hadn’t considered this as the obvious solution. However, it turned out she worked closely with vets, and knew a thing or two about badly behaved cats. A companion may calm Freddie down, she said.
By that stage we were ready to try anything, so off we went to collect a rescue kitten from our local shelter. We weren’t quite expecting the small, shy, cautious creature who returned home with us. We think Oscar had a difficult few months at his first home, and he seemed scared of loud noises and busy activity. We gradually introduced him to boisterous, over-active Freddie, and Oscar was… terrified. We wondered if this had been a good idea. We resolved that if after a few weeks Oscar didn’t get over his terror of Freddie, we would call the shelter for advice.
But then something wonderful happened. The two cats began to spend more time together, and Oscar began to open up. “Hurrah!” we thought. Only a matter of time before Oscar’s shy, cautious personality calms Freddie down.
However, that’s not quite what happened. One cat did influence the other, but it was Oscar who began to gain confidence. Oscar who followed Freddie onto the kitchen counters, who gained a taste for stolen bread, who learned how to shred paper in the most destructive way possible.
“Cream? No, I’ve not seen any cream, wonder what happened to it."
Now, months later, the cats are as thick as thieves. They chase each other – and sometimes us - round the garden, they have learned all of our favourite hiding spots for food, and they have identified each and every window and skylight they can slip through, and arrive with a bump into our laps while we are sleeping, working or in the bath.
Unfortunately, in our effort to give Freddie a companion to calm him down, we provided him with a willing accomplice to his mischief. Our friend has suggested we get a dog to regulate the group and bring peace and serenity to the household – what do you think?