Opie and Guido, Bestest of Buddies.

Yeah, in my dreams. As I write this Guido is growling at Opie and Opie is antagonizing Guido. So, I just threw Opie out of the bedroom where, by the way, Guido is still living. And, why should he want to leave it? He has all the comforts a cat could want, two big windows to look out of; a cushy d-g cushion by one window to get lost in and sleep; a big comfy recliner that doubles as a glorified scratching post; a cat tree; toys; a large Bhuda box and - oh yes - my Queen size bed. The lattice door is closed all day while I'm at work so nobody bothers him. Opie can only look in and hope.

Things have improved a lot though. There haven't been anymore horrible attacks. Well, there was that couple of times last week and maybe a week before that when I felt so confident that I left the door to the bedroom open and went about my business. I was in the basement doing laundry when I heard a thump coming from the bedroom above me. So, I ran upstairs and found Opie on his hind legs trying to get at Guido who was defending himself from his d-g cushion perch by the window, black fur all over the floor. I yelled (Opie listens now and runs) for Opie to get out. He went into the dining room. After I checked with Guido to make sure he was ok, I went in to Opie who was sitting there as innocent as can be except for some black fur that was stuck to the side of his lips. "But, Mom, I didn't do anything!" Uh-huh.

Oh, and then there was that other time when I heard a fuss and I ran in the bedroom to find blood all over my carpet. Opie was holding Guido at bay. I grabbed him and threw him out. Running to Guido, I checked him all over for injuries. The bloody carpet could wait. Guido was fine. No blood. I went out yelling at Opie, hitting him (hitting Opie usually consists of whacking the tip of his tail with my fingers or the tips of his ears as he doesn't like that). I tapped his backside, then I saw the top of his paw bleeding. Poor Opie! I grabbed him and took him into the kitchen apologizing and kissing him all the way. I cleaned up his wound and put two Bandaids around it which he quickly chewed off.

Guido has been holding his own, lately. He likes being in the bedroom by himself. Once in awhile, when I leave the door open, he'll run out and slip down into the basement to mooch around. Then, he comes back up the steps and waits to see if Opie is around before he heads back to the bedroom. Opie is usually asleep when he does this.

The biggest problem I've been having with Opie is that he'll go into the bedroom and play with Guido's water, splashing it all over my carpet. Another problem, which seems to be under control for now is sneaking in to pee behind Guido's Bhuda box. I'll never forget the one night Opie was looking intently at Guido through the lattice door. I had moved a basket of laundry from the other side of the dining room to the side near the door, getting it closer to the living room where I was eventually planning to fold things and put them away. Opie climbed into it and squatted. "OPIE, NOOOO!!!!" I ran and grabbed him, lifting him out of the basket - don't ask me why I did such a stupid thing, reflex I guess. So, he finished peeing on my carpet. At least the laundry I could just throw back in the washing machine. Now I had to clean up the whole smelly mess. But, Opie never took his eyes off of Guido through the whole thing. I figured out what his problem was. It's Nikki.

Since I got Guido, to Nikki's disgust, Opie has been hanging all over her. When I feed her (she gets special diet food) he jumps up to sit beside her while she eats. He tries to put his face in her dish. He wants her food. So, I have to feed him next to her. I've even found Opie laying next to her a couple of times. She must be getting used to his company because she doesn't protest to him as much as she used to. She's even let him lick her and she touched noses with him. He's definitely letting Guido know that she's HIS. You see, she sometimes goes over by the lattice door and stretches herself out provocatively then stares into the bedroom. Opie saw her come out of the bedroom once and he went over and bit her. I thought that once they're spayed and neutered they didn't care about that stuff but the soap opera continues. Guido sort of likes Nikki in his own way. He's not as afraid of her even though she's charged at him a few times. But, he knows that he can jump up on something and she can't get him. Even if she could, she wouldn't fight with him. She's just letting him know that she's the boss and he's at the bottom of the royal tier. And, in the mornings that I can sleep in, Guido will sometimes go over to the regular bedroom door (which I close at night) and lay there softly rrrrring. I got up one time and opened the door to see why he was doing that and found Nikki lying on the other side of it.

Except for knocking a lamp over in my bathroom the other night, just as I was getting ready to go to bed, and shattering the light bulb all over the floor, leaving me no light to see how to clean up the glass shards, Opie has been a good boy. To my astonishment, he's become a lap cat. Sometimes when I sit down he'll come over and lay down by me and eventually crawl into my lap and fall asleep. I look at his long, lanky white body - my little kitty-man with his kitten mind - and I can't be mad at him for long. He's still a bit of a bully, but a kind-hearted bully. He threatens, but there are a lot of times when he goes in the bedroom and comes out again without causing a fuss. He'll still charge the lattice door when it's closed while Guido sits there and stares at him. But, as soon as I open it Guido runs and hides and Opie cautiously sits there then tip-toes in, stopping every once in awhile to sniff this and that. Conclusion, they're both cowards. If they can ever get over their fear of each other they might just be bestest buddies yet.

Copyright © Julie Balon
April 29, 2005