Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Cat owners know that their cats can cause trouble. It seems to be cat's nature to be a problem maker. This does not mean, though, that all the problems that occur should be blamed on the cat.

We have five (yes, five) dogs in my house for the next two weeks. (Well, one will go home after 1 week.) Not only is it our two dachshunds (Sherlock and Molly), but my sister's other dachshund (Watson), my aunt's bichon-cockerspaniel mix (Sage), but also my step sister's St Bernard (Grover). So far everyone has been getting along, except the cat.

Selkie (the cat) is terrified of Grover. She has been hiding upstairs or in closets so she does not have to see him. We even have to carry her downstairs to make sure she gets to her food bowl. This cat would rather starve then be around that dog. With this in mind, she is still the first one blamed for problems.

This morning, there were dog treats all over the floor and the dogs were eating them up. I was told that -my- cat (she is only called this when she is in trouble) spilled the treats and the dogs were going nuts. Did anyone see the cat on the counter? No. Did anyone see the cat downstairs at all? No. Still, she must have done it. Who else would right?

This bugged me. Yes, Selkie has gotten on the counter before, but so have the dogs. Sherlock in particular is not above getting on furniture to reach things on tables or counters and the same can be said about Sage, probably even more so! I let this stew in me for a while before I could speak with my fiancée in private and express how angry I was that the cat always got the blame.

During this conversation, Grover stood up on his back paws, put his whole head in the sink and was licking the plates within. I yelled at him and he promptly got down and walked away. My mother's BF came in and asked what had happened. When I told him he said, "Well, maybe the cat didn't do that thing earlier."

 

How could blame go right to the cat when there are three known dogs in this house to grab stuff off tables and counters and one of them happens to be the size of a small horse?! It annoys me as much as the people who set off the explosion type fireworks that make all these dogs upset... speaking of...