Innocent Bully



"All Kitties are good Kittie

I talk a lot about my cats with “M”, often bragging about their progress and achievements. Frequently about the dynamics in the relationships between the cats. Some times I think I give her the wrong impression about what is happening with the cats. Depending upon the cat in question she will say something like “but they look so sweet and innocent.” I am not really saying that the cat is bad, instead I am describing the affect its actions is having on the others.



Case in point with Mizz Purrzzy, “M” is under the impression that I think she is a bully. That Mizz Purrzzy enjoys dominating and intimidating the other cats. Even though her actions can be construed as those of a bully, I believe she has no intentions of being one. When her personality first start to show its self I wanted to call her Jealous or some name with that meaning. Unable to find a suitable name and with her tendency to constantly purr (even when getting scolded), she wound up with her current name.



Girl tolerates Mizz Purrzzy



I think she was just insecure, not sure that someone actually cared for her. That she needed the extra attention to feel more loved. Like Mittens before her, when ever I would play “string” with one of the other cats she would dive in front of them to catch it. In this case causing Mittens especially but also the others to quit playing and walk away. (Mittens did that to Squirrel when she first showed up, it has taken Squirrel almost a year before she would chase after her fuzzy tail on a a string again.)



"Mamma" Mittens grooms Squirrel



What made it worse though is when ever I sit down to pet one of the other cats she will come up between us, wanting attention. Again I am thinking that she just need a little extra reassurance. This would naturally cause which ever cat I was paying attention to, to get upset and walk away. She was constantly butting in and not letting me have any one on one time with the others.



This caused some resentment amongst the others. Unintentionally of course but never the less it still happened. Lil' Bit will growl at her then run away to avoid conflict. Squirrel just ignores her and will walk away. Mizz Purrzzy just wants to play though and will try to play with Squirrel and chase her. Which will lead to a small skirmish between the two of them. This leads to her getting bored as Mittens (mama Mittens) is the only one that will play with her.



She follows Mittens everywhere almost like her shadow, Mittens will tolerate it. Even will groom her, when Mizz Purrzzy is insistent about it. Mittens eats, she eats, Mittens goes to the potty, she follows, Mittens try’s to play she is right there. Mittens will tire of this and sometimes will slap her or try to hide from her. Mittens is patient though and will still mother her.



 

Tuckered out from play.



Now that Ugly is spending more time inside the two of them will chase each other through the house, so now she has someone else to play with. She used to constantly come up to me and “meeah” at me wanting me to get up and play with her. I would say "is that so" she would reply “meyeaa” and have a conversation with me. Mizz Purrzzy is still very energetic and playful, more so than the others with the exception of Lil' Bit. I think she has been watching Lil' Bit play, taking some cues from her. She has started to use the toys and other items around the house to amuse herself more, finally.

Cat dynamics can be interesting to say the least. The way the hierarchy, structure, bonding changes with the introduction of each new cat or situation. What can appear to be the actions of a mean bullying cat, are instead the ones of an insecure timid and maybe slightly fearful little kitty. Seems that she was just a little misunderstood at first. Squirrel is a bit more bold around her, even Lil' Bit is a tiny, tiny bit more tolerant of her. Things are starting to get back to normal, it just takes a little time and patience.

Rare photo indeed.

So the first pic is a common one of Mizz Purrzzy, with her tongue sticking out. “M” thinks it is odd I think it is cute, especially when she is stretching. She normally has anything from just the very tip up to ¾ of it sticking out. The second pic is her with Girl, who I need to brag on in a post soon, as I am so proud of her. Third is Mama Mittens cleaning Squirrel. Next is Lil' Bit in the piano passed out from playing so hard. Finally a rare photo, no tongue.