I witnessed a first up close and personal cat fight this afternoon, right in front of our door.
A REAL cat fight. Not the human kind.
It was Athena v.s. “Muffins” the Other Stray/Outdoor cat. (The girls downstairs called it a him and named him that.)
I picked Athena up from downstairs instead of having her trail me when I came home. She didn’t protest any and made herself at home the moment she came through the door. She was eating in our doorway as usual, but then I spotted Muffins outside the door.
Athena looked up from her bowl and slowly walked out. They were face to face. Muffins backed up ever so slowly as Athena approached him.
And then…
“Mmrrrawww!!”
“Whoa! WHOA!” I yelled out and opened the screen door. Both of them looked at me, and then Athena ran downstairs. Muffins stayed put on the steps, and looked at me for a second.
“Oh, no. You’re not sitting here.” I shooed him down the stairs.
I didn’t like that. I didn’t like that at all.
Brandon said to leave the door open just in case Athena would come back up. I had a bad feeling about this so I went downstairs to investigate.
Sure enough, Muffins took a post the bottom of our stairs. Athena retreated to her wicker chair. I shooed Muffins off some more but Athena wouldn’t even left the porch. I had to go sit on the planter/wall in the courtyard, where we first made acquaintance for her to come say hi again.
I pet her and picked her up. Muffins was still by the stairs, and I shooed him off. All the while telling my Athena that it’s okay. I brought her back upstairs but she only stayed for just a little while and promptly ran off.
This Muffins cat is wrecking the new found comfort zone for Athena and our brand new relationship. I mean, it took Brandon a week to build the trust with Athena. And this cat waltzed in and changed the game altogether.
I really don’t like this guy.
Brandon and I went down to feed Athena instead. We sat at the planter and she came up to eat. I started to brush her and she didn’t mind that at all.
Oh yes. We just bought a 3-lbs. bag of dry food, a pair of catnip toys, a brush and a flea treatment for the Cat That Is Not Ours. But I digress.
All the while, Muffins was eying the food and stalked toward us. I got up and shooed him away a few times. He ended up in the bush just 10 feet away from me and Athena.
We felt bad not feeding him.
So Brandon, the Cat Whisperer, grabbed a handful of food and stepped to the side, far enough away from me and Athena. He started tossing the nuggets to Muffins. He definitely more feral-ish than Athena. Either that, or he’s some unfriendly outdoor cat.
I got to observed the damn cat. He’s not only looking healthy and fluffy. He has a belly going on, that cat! And he’s here bullying my little girl?
I now have a spray bottle ready for the next time he shows his face around here. Seriously, he’s ruining the dynamics we have with the community cat. We can’t have that.
Suddenly, Athena took off toward the parking lot. Kara, one of the girls downstairs, came home and she went to greet her. This is when we discussed the Community Cat situation as well as our mutual feelings for Muffins. Kara says he likes to stare at her when she sees him. He does that to us too. It is a little creepy.
“That cat looks like he has no soul and he’s ready to steal yours,” she said.
He does look scary. But he’s not scary enough for me. I’m still going to spray his tabby little ass next time I see him. Trying to scare my little Athena away? That kid got something else coming.
Did I mention that Athena is technically not our cat? Hahah. And we are all so protective of her right now.
I mean, look at this little video here and tell me if you can say no to her purring at your door.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnGulqDP-Fo]