An Uneasy Peace

When I returned from Hawaii last week, I entered the apartment to find that Billie and Olivia had been reunited! Yes, our cats, whose stories of bitterness and rivalry have travelled far and wide have drawn up a temporary cease fire. Yet things are far from perfect. Billie still hunts Livie out of boredom. But this has its upside, since Billie is the only one who hates Livie’s meal-time mewing more than myself. Occasionally, I would put her in the bathroom or shake a can of pennies to shut her up. But now Billie takes care of everything for me by boxing Livie into the bedroom and chasing her at the slightest peep. A hundred cans and a thousand pennies couldn’t keep her as quiet.

Livie is getting pretty used to being the hunted. She’s developing street smarts and is beginning to understand how the territories are drawn. She now knows that she’s okay as long as she doesn’t mew, move near Billie or faster than a snail. Only the possibility of food can make her venture out into the red zone. Last night, for example, while I was reading about the Irish Civil War (a similar historical event), I noticed Livie sneaking stealthfully up behind Billie – how the tables do turn! But still, I wondered, what has gotten into her? Jen piped up and hit the nail on the head, “I think Billie’s about to cough something up.” And upchuck she did. Now you may think that cat vomit hardly sounds appetizing, but to Livie, it is a rare delicacy. And since puking makes Billie miserable, she didn’t have the energy to fight Livie off herself. We had to chase her away several times while cleaning up the stain. One cat’s trash is another cat’s treasure.

Here's Billie standing guard outside the bedroom. Stay tuned for pictures of Hawaii.