Wonderful, Marvelous, Fantastic

Hello friends!  Let me clear a space on my table and push a cat off a chair.  Here’s your lint roller and a cinnamon bun.  I’m a little rushed today.  Junior is coming for his birthday dinner – he’s 30 years old already!  Not sure how that happened.  The Viking is cooking but I need to get everything ready for him to do his magic and I have laundry to do.

It’s also Izzie’s birthday – she’ll be a miraculous 1 year old – and it’s been a year paved with allergies, shouts, curses, scratches, bitings, blood, fury and tears. I can’t say that I’ve had to work so hard for another living thing in my entire life and I’ve never bled so much for one either. If not for The Viking’s colossal stubbornness I would have given up 5 months ago.

Izzie was as lovable as a Tarantula. Every cuddle ended in shouts for a “MEDIC!!” Every television program was interrupted by lightning fast attacks leaving us bloody. Every customer through the door received at least one smack and sometimes a bleeding bite too.

We scoured the internet for solutions to a cat that attacks us. Nothing worked. A Drama Queen Vet was zero help and once she awoke from her faint, she yelled at me. “NEVER DISCIPLINE A CAT!! EVER! YOU WILL MAKE IT FEARFUL!”

My wailing response of “But she races into the room, jumps on me, rips my flesh into bloody, meaty ribbons, and then races away before I can catch her! And she’s afraid of NOTHING!” didn’t seem to matter.

I read on one helpful tip that it’s my own fear that’s instigating Izzie’s attacks.  Not bloody likely!!  Hell will freeze over before I’m afraid of a damned cat!

But then a few things happened:

We introduced Izzie to Mim’s well-socialized cats, Dexter & Lucy.

We found sweet Teddy at the SPCA.

And then Dexter & Lucy came to stay at our house for 10 days.

 

Here’s what I learned:

Izzie had serious behavioral problems, duh! However, a Clowder of well-socialized cats is a magical thing and they can perform miracles. Dexter, at the great old age of 3, is the dignified chap that explains things to idiots. Lucy, Dexter’s young protégé, is steel inside a velvet glove and looks sweet the whole time she’s kicking ass. Teddy is the cuddly class clown who does the encouraging, spreading the love and providing a good example. And Izzie was the project.

They had 10 days to perform a miracle. I wish I had a “Right Stuff” slo-mo video of 3 cats strutting into battle because that’s exactly what happened. It was a Battle Royale for the first few days with me and The Viking as referees. Izzie was shunned, slapped, chased and ostrasized as the others refused to have anything to do with the mental state she was in – angry, bullying and nasty.

Dexter and Lucy loved Teddy immediately and played with him happily. Izzie sat on the sidelines, her Satanic Glare sizzling the carpet. But subtle changes were happening. Dexter would sit beside her and explain things. Teddy would offer to play but as soon as the aggression appeared, he slapped her and walked away. Lucy pummelled her with slaps when she approached with anything less than a relaxed state of mind.

By the end of the 10 days, Izzie was a different cat. Lucy was tolerating her, Dexter would play with her a little bit and Teddy would greet her with a kiss. She was even learning how to give Love Eyes. They still look like she wants to eat you but her body language is soft and sweet.

Once Dexter and Lucy went home, Izzie tried to revert to the Bully again, but Teddy took it for exactly one day before taking steps.  When Izzie got rough during play time, Teddy would give it right back and it was Izzie that yelled and ran away.  He then decided she needed to be bathed and when she objected he jumped on her and bit her neck until she submitted. She hated every moment but took it anyway.  She just heaves a heavy sigh now and let’s him give her a bath.

The transformation is complete and only needs minor fine tuning by Teddy once in a while.

We now have Wonderful, Marvelous, Fantastic! Her eyes are more round, her bites are Love Bites, soft and gentle and followed by a few licks. She’s almost polite and she comes for cuddles that don’t morph into The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. A customer gave her a pet today and she didn’t try to sever his arm. He was amazed because the last time he was here he left with a bloody laceration on the back of his hand.

I don’t know if this would work for any other cat, but it was a miracle for Izzie. Without the therapy of the other cats, she would have become a Barn Cat. We couldn’t let her near children – she bit a little girl for just standing in the house beside me – and she would definitely be more than any elderly person could handle. There are the occasional shouts from Izzie when Teddy has to get rough but for the most part they are best friends.

And, of course, The Viking and I are over-the-moon happy. We haven’t bled since Dex and Lucy went home. The thunder of cats charging through the house no longer sends chills down my spine. I’m not worried that Izzie will really hurt Teddy anymore either. Best of all is the whiskers on Izzie’s face; they are pushed so far forward the ends almost touch.

So, Happy Birthday, Izzie Girl!! We love you!

via GIPHY

Thanks to Nerd in the Brain for hosting Weekend Coffee Share.

18 thoughts on “Wonderful, Marvelous, Fantastic”

  1. Yay, Izzie! I am thrilled for her. And you. And your appendages. Bless her little heart, and bless you both for not giving up on her! ?

    1. It was a close call but we’re so happy we don’t have to get rid of her. Thanks for stopping by, Tanya. :o)

  2. Sometimes have a “talking to” by someone of your own species does wonders… Glad Izzie is no longer the cat from Hell….

    1. Us, too! We hated the idea of her, wearing her pearls, living in a barn. She’s pretty sweet now though, to our relief. :o)

  3. I love your description, “as lovable as a Tarantula.” Laughed out loud, and it made me think of a friend’s cat. She had a chair in her house that if you sat in it the cat thought it was play time and she would attack whoever was in that chair. Funny little creatures! Anyway, great post. Thanks for sharing.

    1. Cats are just odd. :o) That’s what I like about them I suppose. And our Izzie has a surplus of personality, which is why we tried so hard. Thanks for stopping by, Shari. :o)

    1. I knew it worked for dogs but I wasn’t sure it would work for cats. It was a last ditch effort and it paid off. So happy about it. :o)

  4. Seems you have quite an adventure with your clowder (ok I think that’s the word I’m looking for) of cats. We have but the one. Thought about another but hubby nixed idea for now… If we were to get another our resident Meekah would have to be in full approval. She’s not really keen on other cats on her turf (and can be most inhospitable), so the match would have to a perfect one). For the ones that will allow, an ear scratch (Meekah loves those).

    1. Our intention, when we brought Izzie home, was to have a single cat house. Unfortunately, no matter how much we played with her it wasn’t enough. So many things went into helping her to be better. It sounds like your Meekah is quite happy being the sole ruler of the roost though. :o)

    1. That sounds like something I should have on my coffee cup: “Less bleeding is always good.” :o)

  5. Oh my goodness you had me in stitches! You are a hoot and a half to read, no doubt about it. I have to share this with my sister, the Cat Lady. She has a bitchy cat who blocks the door to the litter box for one of the three and bullies her all the time.
    I’m glad it is no longer a war-zone in your house!

  6. Great news.. I had a dear, sweet black male cat who acted the same way as a kitten, but it was more playful attacking rather than blood drawing.. So glad to hear things have improved. As much as I love cats, that would be hard to deal with!

    1. We are so happy it’s all working out so well. They sleep together now and bath each other – it’s like they are best buddies. Izzie has learned to play like your black boy – gently and carefully. My veins are thankful. :o)

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