
She ignores me when her new friends visit and she doesn't want to go to bed at curfew. She's inclined to be a little rebellious and know-it-all. "Mum I know those magazine pages are going to taste better than that kibble you put in my bowl" and "Phone charger? What phone charger? Those aren't my teeth marks. Check the cat."
Speaking of cats, poor Zoey has her paws full trying to cope with a boisterous puppy. Yet strangely she seems to invite trouble. I pull Clio away from her and instead of retreating, she heads right back to her. Then when Clio sniffs her she howls, "Mum, she's touching me again." Just like kids!
I've been waiting for Zoey to bring out the claws and put Clio in her place, but she only swats her with her claws sheathed. She's not afraid of Clio, just annoyed. She gets along with my daughter's poodles, so I think things will settle when Clio mellows a little. I'm hoping in time they become nap buddies. I think it might be a case of Kitty Karma. When Zoey was a kitten I had an older dog she teased mercilessly.
Do you have a mix of dogs and cats? How do they get on? Is it best to have an older dog and younger cat, or vice-versa? My guess is the former.
In any case, such relationships usually sort themselves out when the dog learns that the Golden Rule of pet-dom is "Cats rule."