A Pee War, for those who've never had the pleasure, is usually a cat affair but can occur with any alpha-esque relationship with animals.
Basically, for me, one cat has an accident. The other, not wanting to allow the other's scent to be in the house, go and marks over it.
Then, the first detests the scent of his rival and marks over that.
On and On it goes. And cat pee is hard to get out of anything, most of all fabric that can't be soaked or washed or hung in the sun. Like a couch.
My Andy
We had Halloween on Monday, and in NZ, it's a sort of affair that is growing in popularity due to more shops and expats finally having the guts to be proud of the holiday. But, it's still considered in 'bad' taste to participate and most call it 'organised begging'. It makes me sad.
We dressed to the nines, as usual.
Soph was Dorothy, Matt was the Tin Man and I was the Wicked Witch of the West. Green and all. I'm still slightly green tinged, even after vigorous scrubbing.
It was a fab night. I was very tired Tuesday though, especially as I hadn't taken my crutch.
I did my first shop at the supermarket with my crutch yesterday. It went ok.
Soph is tall enough and strong enough to guide a little cart but still gets distracted and crashes.
The issue came when trying to unload the cart at the checkout and having my helper disappear to get herself a chocolate bar.
But! Light at the end of the tunnel! The cashier was an absolute angel and she unloaded my trolley onto the checkout belt. Wow!!
I was so grateful and felt like buying her a bottle of wine. Even with a newborn and a c-section, no one has put my groceries on the belt for me. So, an upside to the more visible sign of illness.
The real excitement came last night, however, when we finally caught the Jack Russell terrier (terror) who's been chasing the cats for a year. He/She usually comes with his/her poodle companion, but the poodle is far too smart and runs away.
They come onto the property and chase the cats around the back to the cat door and then, worst of all, they COME inside.
The Poodle has fully come in, the terror has only put his/her head in as he/she is far too fat to fit (thankfully!!).
The terrier is my real worry as they love to hunt and a cat is just like a stoat or a rat to them and Ben, my tabby, has already had his neck bitten, requiring vet stitches, antibiotics and boosters against communicable disease. It's expensive.
By law, in NZ, your dog must be registered, fenced and microchipped. This owner has been repeatedly reported (by me) and paid fines 4 times this year but refuses to build a fence.
The Law States: a dog owner must ensure at all times that, when their dog is on their property, it is either (a) under the direct control of a person, or (b) confined in such a manner that it cannot freely leave the property. If this requirement is not met the dog may be seized. source
Soph is 6 and the little girl next door is 2.5 who is dog and cat mad. She basically runs at them and pats them. That is what 2.5 year olds do. The problem is the terrier is also a biter. So this is a HUGE risk. Not just to my cats, but to the kids too.
I believe the owner came by last night looking for the dog. He was holding the poodle and asked a lot of questions but denied it was his dog.
I did get into his face a bit about the poodle, as it was the poodle who bit Ben, but he claimed his poodle 'would never do that' before he ran off. Yeah buddy, it was in my HOUSE!!!
It took about 2 hours of persistence, but we did manage to capture the terrier thanks to Matt's bravery and thick blanket. I had tried twice to restrain her myself, and she nipped me twice (totally not her fault, she was stressed).
When animal control showed up, the girl was brilliant. They have an 11 month old file on us and she knew all the details. In the back of her van she had a black Scotty dog named OPRAH who had got out and run amok. It was gorgeous!! Hopefully her owners will make sure she doesn't get out again. That's the type of dog people steal for the reward.
It did involve quite a bit of running, leaping, etc and I'm not as sore as I imagined I would be, but I didn't sleep at all, worried about what's going to happen to the dog. Did we stress it too much? Will the owner punish it? He doesn't seem to be a great sort of guy.
Gah. I was up all night feeling horrible for detaining it. If they can't pay to claim her, they'll put her to sleep.
But, at the same time, I can't have a nipping dog coming onto the property and biting my cats or child. My older cat is far too old and arthritic for the dog and I'm worried what will happen if the dog gets Andy.
Benny is still a young thing and very fit. But he won't always be.
Aaaaaaah. The guilt is horrible.
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