Missy turned out to be the most miserable, most cantankerous, downright viscious old battleaxe it's ever been my, er, fortune to meet!
You know when a cat's had enough stroking, or whatever, they'll get up and move away?
If they can't move away, and you persist they may go so far as having a little grumble at you; and under even more 'provocation' they'll usually warn you off with a swipe of a paw - claws sheathed, or maybe 'bounce' their teeth off you with a quick snap - no harm done.
It's generally only under the most extreme provocation that a cat will actually do its best to damage you.
Not Missy!
Depending on her mood at the time you could stroke her for anywhere between thirty seconds and five minutes at a time. And then, with no discernible change of demeanour, no warning of any kind - she'd strike!
Drew blood every time!
Well, to start with, I put it down to the poor old sausage being uprooted out of house and home, and being left with a man at that! She was definitely a one woman cat...
So I made sure that she got to know very quickly that there was one place in the house where she was always safe. Despite the fact that she was in plain view in the mouse slipper under the kitchen table I never spoke to her, nor picked her up; or even looked at her while she was in it. But I'd always stroke her if she was even six inches outside it...
It was a few days before she'd consent to sitting on my lap for a stroke, but I was still getting belted..
The day she raked me all the way across the back of my hand with claws fully spread was the day I decided I'd had enough of this! I swiped her off my lap into the middle of the living room floor with quite some vigour! Once she'd got over her surprise at being treated that way she went off to sulk. But blow her. If she couldn't behave like a civilised cat she was going to get treated tit for tat!
The next day was the same, and it must have been about five days later that she came back to sit on my lap after only a couple of hours sulking. By this time, of course, I'd learned how to stroke her in ways that seemed to annoy her least; so I used the one I knew she seemed to like best of all...
Whack!!
Wallop!!
The whack was her, the wallop was me. She fairly flew across the room, and once she'd finished tumbling she was off into the kitchen like a ginger streak! Straight into the safe spot!
So... fair enough...
I came home from work the next day to find that she hadn't used the litter tray - she'd used my bed instead!! Right slap bang in the middle!!
She was napping on the sofa as if she hadn't a care in the world!
Well she soon had plenty!
I took a good firm hold of the scruff of her neck, hauled her upstairs without getting scratched too much, planted her firmly on the bed and stuck her nose right up to it! Then I did my best impression of a furious cat! Yowling and hissing at her for all I was worth...
When her struggles were getting too hard to handle I let her go... well, truth to tell - I threw her away to save getting severely mauled... but I chased her all the way down the stairs still yelling and spitting like mad until she made it to safety. Gawd only knows what the neighbours thought was going on!
It was two days before she came out while I was around... in fact, to start with she'd run for cover as soon as she knew I was home...
And it was another couple of days before she sat on my lap...
So I spoke gently to her; stroked her nicely...
...and when she'd had enough she got up!
That was the end of that. When she showed signs of stirring - I'd stop stroking, and she'd stay put... if I started stroking her again a little later, but too soon for her - she'd grumble...
By the time the day dawned when her new home was ready for her we'd become fast friends. I never realised how much so until we got there. Missy wandered about the place checking it over, as cats do, and came to join us in the living room. She headed first towards my friend... stopped... looked from one of us to the other... and hopped up onto my lap!
She wasn't about to have anything to do with that person who'd abandoned her!
Needless to say, that was all some time ago and the two of them are back to normal. I even get belted if I overstep the bounds of familiarity!
