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Old February 7th 06, 09:13 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
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Default Beware the attack cat

Beware the attack cat
By Vivian Gilbert Zabel

Cats have been a part of my household for over forty years; no, not the
same cats, but various ones over the years. Many have been protective
of their kittens or litter mates or even of their human family members
to some extent, but none have been attack cats like Funny Face.

Funny Face chose me; I did not choose him. We had a spayed female named
G.G. when my husband brought two kittens home from an auction as a
favor for a friend. A brother and sister left from a litter of twelve
kittens needed homes. My husband offered help. Funny Face decided that
he had found a home and a person of his own.

The first time Funny Face showed protective tendencies, my husband was
gone overnight, and the cat, who slept by my feet, jumped from the bed,
growling. He ran to the front door, still growling. He rushed to the
kitchen and followed the path inside that someone took around the
outside of the house, growling constantly. He stood at the back door
listening for a couple of minutes, and we both heard someone climb over
the back fence. Funny Face ran back to the bed, hopped in his regular
spot, and immediately went to sleep. After that, anytime my husband
wasn't home, Funny Face became the protector. When my husband was home,
guess the cat decided protection was the man's job.

One night, we heard Funny Face yowling outside. Thinking he was hurt, I
ran to the door, switching on the light before going out on the porch.
I called Funny Face, and he sped to me, his fur and tail literally
standing on end. He stopped in front of me and turned to face the
blackness beyond the light. My husband joined me before we saw the dog,
a broken chain dangling from his collar. Robert sat on the bench on the
porch and called the dog to him, hoping to find a phone number or
something on the tag which also hung from the collar. Funny Face
pressed against my legs as I told him everything was okay.

My husband grasped the dog's collar, trying to read the tag, but he
couldn't hold dog and tag. He asked me to see if I could read it. I
moved toward the dog, and Funny Face leaped toward the dog, growling
and spitting. I scooped the cat into my arms, but he didn't calm down
until I moved back into the house. The dog took off, never to be seen
by us again.

One time I was in the back yard, and a dog on the other side of the
solid wood fence started barking. Funny Face took a defensive stance,
once again putting himself between me and the perceived danger,
growling and ready to attack.

Researching has not helped me discover if Funny Face's behavior is
common. I cannot find any information about a cat acting as he does.
Perhaps no one has told him that he is a cat, not a dog. Aggression
that others write about concerns cat versus cat or cat aggression
toward a person, even its owner, but no word about a protectiveness
toward its person.

Funny Face, though, is my attack cat, and anything or anyone who might
try to harm me would have to go through him. Here, pretty kitty. That's
a good boy.

"To gain the friendship of a cat is a difficult thing. The cat is a
philosophical, methodical, quiet animal, tenacious of its own habits,
fond of order and cleanliness, and it does not lightly confer its
friendship. If you are worthy of its affection, a cat will be your
friend, but never your slave. He keeps his free will, though he loves,
and he will not do for you what he thinks is unreasonable. But if he
once gives himself to you it is with absolute confidence and
affection!" Theophile Gautier, 1850

After teaching for years, Vivian Gilbert Zabel became an author on
Writing.Com, http://www.Writing.Com/authors/vzabel, and with books,
Hidden Lies and Other Stories and Walking the Earth found through
Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com. This article has been submitted in
affiliation with http://wwwhttp://www.
PetLovers.Com/ which is a site for Pet Forums.