Murrmurr
SF VIP
- Location
- Sacramento, California
Pixel is over a decade old, possibly 12yrs old, I'm not sure. I took him in when he showed up with a feral colony I was feeding 10 years ago, and I guessed he was maybe several months old, but the vet I took him to said he was probably 2yrs.
Anyway, he's been living with me for 10, and he was the only cat here until...I don't know, 2 years ago, I'd say. And he was the only one who slept with me until 4 years ago, when I got married.
Pixel loves my wife, so sharing the bed with her has never been an issue for him. And he adjusted pretty well when I took Penny in a couple years ago. They aren't snuggly with each other or anything. I think she recognized his age and that he's kind of frail (he has epilepsy) and on a special diet and everything, and she respects it. She gives him his space.
Then I took Charlie in about a year ago. He was just a kitten; a little, scrawny guy, but full of vinegar. I de-wormed him, gave him a bath, and had him checked out by a vet who said Charlie was 6 months old, according to his teeth, but looked younger because he was underweight and small for his age.
Everyone likes Charlie. He's got a human quality that's kind of spooky...you see it in his eyes...but people find him fascinating. He's super-inquisitive and playful, and mischievous to the point of being a pain in the butt at least once every day. He knows it, and he doesn't care.
Charlie's a big ol' boy now. He feels a good 2 pounds heavier than either Penny or Pixel, and he's been throwing his weight around like an asscat for the past several months. He hasn't hurt the other cats, he doesn't use violence at all, but he doesn't have to; he just glares, and probably sends out scent signals that tells them to back away from me...this is his spot, that's his food, his bathroom, his recliner....
And he especially zeros in on Pixel, the long-reining Prince of my castle. It's really pissing me off, and I tell Charlie so, and he obviously understands me. Dude doesn't care. I think he's hell-bent on taking over the throne. In fact, I made a nap cushion for Pixel several years ago that says "Prince Pixel" on it. He hasn't napped on it for months. (Charlie never has)
Anyway, whenever I give Pixel extra "Good Boy" talk, or put him in his special spot on our bed and that sort of thing, Charlie just goes harder with the glare, and probly the scent signals, idk. But there's also random times when he grooms Pixel, which is confusing. (to me)
I'm not sure what to do besides keep treating Pixel like the Prince he's always been. Don't get me wrong, nobody goes overboard with that....Pixel has special needs, he's been my Bud for a decade, and he's the senior cat in the hierarchy; that's how I see it, and that's how we treat him.
That said, if anyone has any suggestions, feel free.
Anyway, he's been living with me for 10, and he was the only cat here until...I don't know, 2 years ago, I'd say. And he was the only one who slept with me until 4 years ago, when I got married.
Pixel loves my wife, so sharing the bed with her has never been an issue for him. And he adjusted pretty well when I took Penny in a couple years ago. They aren't snuggly with each other or anything. I think she recognized his age and that he's kind of frail (he has epilepsy) and on a special diet and everything, and she respects it. She gives him his space.
Then I took Charlie in about a year ago. He was just a kitten; a little, scrawny guy, but full of vinegar. I de-wormed him, gave him a bath, and had him checked out by a vet who said Charlie was 6 months old, according to his teeth, but looked younger because he was underweight and small for his age.
Everyone likes Charlie. He's got a human quality that's kind of spooky...you see it in his eyes...but people find him fascinating. He's super-inquisitive and playful, and mischievous to the point of being a pain in the butt at least once every day. He knows it, and he doesn't care.
Charlie's a big ol' boy now. He feels a good 2 pounds heavier than either Penny or Pixel, and he's been throwing his weight around like an asscat for the past several months. He hasn't hurt the other cats, he doesn't use violence at all, but he doesn't have to; he just glares, and probably sends out scent signals that tells them to back away from me...this is his spot, that's his food, his bathroom, his recliner....
And he especially zeros in on Pixel, the long-reining Prince of my castle. It's really pissing me off, and I tell Charlie so, and he obviously understands me. Dude doesn't care. I think he's hell-bent on taking over the throne. In fact, I made a nap cushion for Pixel several years ago that says "Prince Pixel" on it. He hasn't napped on it for months. (Charlie never has)
Anyway, whenever I give Pixel extra "Good Boy" talk, or put him in his special spot on our bed and that sort of thing, Charlie just goes harder with the glare, and probly the scent signals, idk. But there's also random times when he grooms Pixel, which is confusing. (to me)
I'm not sure what to do besides keep treating Pixel like the Prince he's always been. Don't get me wrong, nobody goes overboard with that....Pixel has special needs, he's been my Bud for a decade, and he's the senior cat in the hierarchy; that's how I see it, and that's how we treat him.
That said, if anyone has any suggestions, feel free.
