🐾 Caturday Chronicle: The Day the Neighbor’s Dog Unexpectedly Visited Our 10‑Cat Fiefdom
With a surprise cameo by Kokee the Sekoke
In our household, the cats rule. Ten of them. A full feline parliament, complete with factions, committees, and a water‑trough caucus.
They have routines. They have expectations. They have opinions.
And then, one fine morning, the neighbor’s dog exploded through her screen door and arrived at our doorstep like a furry, panting meteor. Naturally, I brought him inside — because the street is no place for a confused dog with poor impulse control. I figured we’d wait out the 6–8 hours until his human returned.
The cats, however, had not been consulted.
Act I: The Great Retreat
The moment the dog crossed the threshold, the entire feline population performed a synchronized evacuation worthy of Cirque du Soleil.
- Big eyes everywhere. The “What fresh hell is this” expression spread across the house like a contagion.
- One cat, who has never seen a dog, filed an immediate complaint with management. (Management was me. Management was busy.)
- The others retreated to their panic rooms, muttering darkly about border security failures.
Meanwhile, the dog — thrilled to have found a human who wasn’t yelling about screen doors — glued himself to me like a warm, needy barnacle.
Act II: The Velcro Dog
If I spoke, he leapt into my lap. If I breathed, he leaned on me. If I tried to work, he attempted to merge his entire body with mine.
Eventually he settled beside me in the big Lazy Boy, dozing like a furry armrest. This was acceptable. The cats disagreed.
Act III: The Reconnaissance Mission
After a while, the dog did some tentative exploring of the living room.
This was met with:
- Horrified stares from behind furniture
- A low chorus of offended tail thumps
- One cat whispering, “He’s touching our things.”
The dog, oblivious, sniffed a chair leg and wagged his tail. The cats took notes for future litigation.
Act IV: The Bathroom Question
At one point I found myself asking the universe, “How do you know when a dog needs to go to the bathroom?” The cats, who have never once asked permission to pee in their lives, were deeply amused. The dog, meanwhile, continued his impression of a weighted blanket with paws.
Act V: Peaceful Coexistence (Mostly)
Eventually, the dog settled. The cats peeked. The house exhaled.
We achieved a fragile détente:
- Dog: asleep, snoring gently
- Cats: watching from strategic vantage points
- Me: typing with one hand because the other was pinned under 40 pounds of canine diplomacy
It wasn’t perfect, but it was peaceful.
Act VI: The Epilogue Nobody Expected
Just when the kingdom seemed stable, Kokee — the wild, overly courageous Sokoke — made her entrance. With the swagger of a cat who once roamed the Kenyan wilds (or at least believes she did), she approached the water bowl I’d put down for the dog.
He watched her with mild curiosity.
She drank with the intensity of a creature who has survived drought, predators, and the indignity of sharing a water trough with nine other cats. After every few sips, she lifted her head and scanned the horizon —as if lions might be lurking behind the sofa.
But she drank. And she drank happily. Because for once, she did not have to share.
The dog blinked.
The cats peeked.
The fiefdom held.
❤️ Caturday Moral
Even in a 10‑cat kingdom, diplomacy is possible. Especially when the visiting dog naps politely and the bravest cat in the house finally gets her own private watering hole.
Learn more about cats. See our many Caturday posts.
Be entertained. See all our posts about cats.
Be inspired. See posts by and about Sula, parish cat, and her books.
Have a chuckle. Read posts by and about Jeremy Feig's award-winning book (book of the year finalist, Kops-Fetherling Lagacy Award for Humor), How My Cat Made Me a Better Man.
Watch for Luna Norwood's forthcoming book, Raising Happy Cat Families. Now available on preorder at MSI Press Webstore. Use Coupon Code FF25 for 25% discount.
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