The Writer’s Cats - A Tale of Two Personalities

For the last few weeks in our house, we have been trying to integrate Saphie, our tiny tabby kitten, with Hendricks our two-year-old cat. There have been many endearing and hilarious feline moments, but to be honest, many more trying ones. Saphie still crawls on my lap to sleep while I write at my desk, occasionally shredding a piece of paper or hiding a pen – all quite charming.

Big cat, Little Cat

Yet since my last blog on introducing a little kitten to a big cat, we have found the big cat, Hendricks, to be the very least of our worries. After a couple of weeks, Hendricks stopped whingeing about little Saphie and became more intrigued by the incredible speed she could move at and her endless capacity for play; he soon realised he had a little playmate for those many rainy days to come. 

As for Saphie, she followed Hendricks around the house in awe, trying to mimic his actions. It was not long before Saphie’s confidence grew. Did I say ‘grew?’ Well, it actually soared to unbelievable heights. Even though she is less than a quarter of his size, Saphie now stalks Hendricks, chasing him from room to room, biting at his tail and ankles and wrestling him to the ground at every opportunity. She will wait until he is asleep, then showing him the ultimate disrespect, climb up and stand on his head to nip his ears. 

The more we pull Saphie off Hendricks, the more persistent her naughty behaviour becomes. So we move her to another room to cool off for five minutes, after which she returns to being a well behaved, purring fluff-ball…. for a short time.

Poor Hendricks is far too soft and sweet natured to rise to Saphie's provocation. I’ve been told it’s very much up to Hendricks to tell Saphie off, especially if he does not want to make a rod for his own back, but all he will do is give her a gentle bop on her head, leap to a height she cannot reach, or hide in a paper bag. So all we can do for now is distract and supervise the two.      

 

Hendricks hiding from Saphie

My novel The First Sense is available from several online retailers. Please visit my website www.nppostlethwaite.com for more information.