Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Of Cats and Dogs....

This post is drawn from a personal experience of mine and is about a cat and a dog. Their interactions remind me of sibling rivalry or those moments of feeling usurped by the new entrant into the family. It all began like this.

The cat was the queen of the house. The entire house was her territory. Oh! boy, she did have an amazing time, running here and there, up and down, over the fridge, the wooden cabinets, etc. A very friendly cat.

Then, a dog (a few months old) was brought into the house. They were to share the same territory. The cat was forgotten but for the occassional "how are you doing". The dog is currently being pampered with daily evening walks and is allowed to sleep in the master's bedroom. And, when the two of them are together, let loose, the cat's superiority is gone. The dog chases the cat and frightens her to the hilt. Sadistic pleasure at the plight of the cat by the dog is rampantly obvious.

I guess all this is pretty natural. But then, what shocks me, are the eyes of the cat. The happiness is gone. She is sad. When the dog goes out for a walk with her master, the cat's eyes make that desperate plea. She is silent these days. No longer does she run around the house. She simply sits in the sofa, mourning. I really feel sorry for her. But then, as always, she needs to learn to share and the younger sibling, the dog, needs to accomodate her too.

Emotions are truly universal.

PS: I being, a paying guest in the house, cannot do much. However, I would like to dedicate this post to that cat.

4 comments:

SB said...

Ranga, cats eyes are the most deceptive. Whenever i think cat i think shrewd, cunning and a general lack of honesty in them. Maybe its a personal thing.

Rangakrishnan Srinivasan said...

Saurav: Might be true. Guess, unless you get burnt, you never really get to know.

Unknown said...

its very similar to what happens when the second baby is born.. parents have to be very careful to make sure that the first-born doesn't feel left out or uncared for. unfortunately, most of the times it doesn't work, and u end up seeing the cat's eyes in the older one.

Rangakrishnan Srinivasan said...

chikuado: true, very true. the advantages and disadvantages of being the first-born or the second-born are there.