fallen

[opabinia]

Tonight I was reminded that I dislike cats in general. Yes, individual cats, such as ZombieKitty and Molly, can grow on me, but those are the exceptions, not the rule.

There's a beautiful Russian Blue that lives in my neighborhood. He used to be my favorite cat in the whole world. Often, when I got home late at night, he (She? Whatever.) would appear out of the darkness, meow at me, and beg for attention. I'd pet him, scratch him, pick him up. He was soft, cute, warm. He purred at me.

Tonight, I saw him after driving home from Ceremony. As usual, there was much purring, following, scratching, petting, carrying, and so forth. What a sweet, lovely creature. He rolled over on his back, and I scritched his chest, the way I have for nearly two years. Suddenly he decided it would be a good idea to bite me incredibly hard, unprovoked, without any sort of warning. He just clamped onto my hand and bit down. Drew blood. Pressed right between the metacarpals, pinching the tendons so that it hurts to make a fist or extend the fingers.

I'm sure he'll waltz up to me again one of these nights, meowing, purring, cooing, rolling over. I'll kick him across the street.

Comments

[sbazzy.livejournal.com]

I'll kick him across the street

the idea of animal cruelty in any form, even as a joke, really upsets me.

[damiel.livejournal.com]

Uh-uh. Lepidosiren is in trouble.

[sanguineempathy.livejournal.com]

don't you dare!, and I really hope you are not serious! You just triggered a play/fight reaction, alot of cats are really sensative about their stomachs being touched...
Sorry about your hand, hope it feels better (since it was a puncture wound - have you had a tetanus shot lately ? (w/in the past 10 years and your fine), but don't take it out on the cat! Just be more careful :) and don't write off the whole species just yet...

[sbazzy.livejournal.com]

usually this cat loves having his stomach rubbed, but obviously some sort of natural reaction to something happened. certainly not unusual or irrational behavior on the cat's part - just a normal part of their natural behavior.

Re:

[sanguineempathy.livejournal.com]

So the solution is that lepidosiren needs to spend more time with cats - not less - so he knows how they work :) Progressive cat handling therapy!

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

I politely refrain from commenting.

Re:

[sanguineempathy.livejournal.com]

Such a paragon of self-control "wink"...
you just have to meet the hairless wonders then your mind will be changed on the feline race.
don't you have cells to be killing somewhere? :)

[sbazzy.livejournal.com]

well that's sortof my opinion. unfortunately, he can't spend too much time around mine because something about them or my apartment triggers his asthma :-(

Re:

[sanguineempathy.livejournal.com]

gee, that's too bad :( Perhaps he'll build up a tolerance...until then Claritin and Ventolin can work wonders...Good luck

[sbazzy.livejournal.com]

until then Claritin and Ventolin can work wonders

for allergies, yes. it's not allergies. Claritin won't do jack for asthma.

[militart.livejournal.com]

yeah that's a cat's M.O. all right...

[alonewiththemoon]

that's a bad kitty! but sometimes they just do that. That's why ferrets are better, because you know they are going to do that all the time ;-) Have you had your hand looked at by anybody? Cat bites can develop infections quickly.

Watch it!

[bottleimp.livejournal.com]

And I mean watch it CLOSE! Forgive the grammar, but even w/o tetanus you could get a nasty infection and cellulitis, and then you'd probably be on a course of injectable antibiotics. Cat bites are infamous for this.
Redness, swelling, heat, discoloration, esp. like colored streaks under the skin, fever, etc etc. Get thee to an ER if you have any doubt at all.

Re: Watch it!

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

Indeed. Thanks. Looks fine so far.