A busy room in the house that has constant traffic would be the dining room. That’s where I do my homework, eat dinner, and where the dogs and cats eat too. For Sugar, who thinks she is the queen of cats, it’s more than a dining room. To her, it is her palace. Humans may pass for they are her servants, feeding her and petting her whenever she meows. As for Blacky and Max, the other cats, she is suspicious and watches their every move. Sugar allows the cats to rest in the sleeping quarters of the palace which are really just chairs pushed in under the table. One of these places serves as a lookout during the day. The back of the chair is like a railing, with spaces big enough for Sugar to fit her arm through. The dogs are a nuisance; trampling through, whacking everything with their long tails.Sugar sits, facing the railing, to look out for any foolishness in her kingdom. After a while, the other animals in the houseare familiar with Sugar well enough to know not mess with her. No matter what size you are, she isn’t afraid to fight back. New pets are unlucky though, and must learn from their mistakes.
Zeus, a seven month old golden retriever puppy, doesn’t know the way of the kingdom or that there is a palace at all. He gallops through the house and can clear the coffee table with one swipe of his furry tail. When he enters the dining room he sees no danger at all, just a small, white, innocent looking cat sitting on a chair that is at his level. Being the friendly, playful puppy he is he trots over to say “Hi,” not knowing what a terrible choice he has made.
Sugar sees this new dog approaching the dining room. Zeus trots over. His nose is large and wet, andhis tongueis dangling out the side of his mouth. Heis getting closer and closer to Sugar’s lookout. He runs up and tries to shove his nose through the railing to sniff Sugar. She quickly reacts and slaps Zeus across the face and hisses simultaneously. He yelps and stumblesaway,whimpering. It sounded as if he had been hurt in a terrible accident, but in reality, the 75 pound dog was only pawed on the face by a de-clawed,13 year old, 7 pound cat.
Due to his crying and melting self-confidence, one would have thought he had learned his lesson, but instead of keeping his distance he does the same exact thing over and over again as if he forgot what happened the first time. Every day he barely staggers away from the cat, never learning his lesson.
After 2 weeks of trial and error he now understands the seniority the cat has over him. This discovery doesn’t mean he stops trying to sniff Sugar when he spots her. He has just realized that the old idea that a dog chases a cat is opposite in this house. Hopefully he won’t be too emotionally scarred by the time he learns the way of the kingdom.