The Bully



Stache, boldly patrolling our yard in search of victims

One of our cats is a bully.

Oh, did I say our cats? I mean we have 3 cats.

NO. We have 2 cats. There is an impostor who makes his rounds and regularly visits our yard. He believes that he lives here.

And he preys on my 2 gray girls. Beats them up, terrorizes them, chases them back through the cat door, lurks, stalks, and generally haunts their every step.

We are guaranteed at least one cat fight a day. Screeching and caterwauling fill the neighbor air with clouds of cat angst. And then one and/or both of my cats come flying through the cat door or back screen door, tails a-puff, terror written on their furry little faces. On occasion, he has even interrupted potty time, with somewhat messy results.

"How are your kitties doing?" asked one of our neighbors.

"Fine," I replied, happy to share about my girls to our dog-person friend, "brought in a mouse yesterday."

"But are they getting in cat fights?" she clarified.

OH. "Why yes they are. Every. Single. Day."

"Is the cat black and white with a mustache?"

"That's him. We call him Stache."

It seems Stache has several other less complimentary names. And he does indeed weave rounds of torment as he runs through yards on our street.

He's bold, that one. He perches on our front porch as if he owned the place. One morning we woke up and he was sleeping on our back patio right against the kitchen window.

Last night, after hubby had wandered off to bed in a post-Seahawks win fog, the girls and I were curled up cozy watching a little tele and reading. Mind you, my 2 cats were locked in for the night to prevent them from bringing treats of the worst kind into our bedroom. We have also found that they couldn't be involved in midnight fights if they were safely secured inside with the cat door locked.

Lo and behold, someone was trying to get in our cat door! Not my 2, who both immediately flew off of the couch and raced to the cat door (they are very brave when I am around).

I followed very quietly. I knew who it was. Our cat number 3, the menace. We should call him Dennis.

It was Stache. Trying to break and enter. I can only imagine what chaos would have ensued had the door not been closed and he had gained entry! Talk about the fur-be-flying...

Let that be a lesson to us. And a quest for answers.

1. Lock the cats up at night. In the house.

2. Close and block the cat door to prevent unwanted guests.

3. Chase the bully away each time you see him (we do this EVERY day, and it does not really work, but what else can we do?).

4. Provide multiple escape routes for kitties.

5. Ask for help.

HELP! Any ideas? Must stop bully.



Stache, making his this-is-my-house approach to our front porch