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Wednesday, October 17, 2007

The "Cat-Converter" and his Ridgies

Barkley and his "being convinced" Sabu:

Barkley the cat taking Cooper's bone; and Barkley getting warm.
































And here are two examples of Ridgies with a low prey drive - at least, for Barkley the Cat.
Barkley was so named because he was the only cat I ever knew who did not know he was a cat. My friends called him the "Cat-Converter" because he would convert every cat hater or doubter he met. His personality is bigger than his body, and he would not back down from a charging dog no matter how big or how fast it would be running toward him. He would patiently wait in a sitting position, raise his rear off the ground ever so slightly and JUST before the dog would be on top of him would leap in its face. The dog would lose every time. One summer while I was out in a college language school, Barkley stayed with my parents who did not believe in keeping him inside. They told stories of him watching out the screen door and asking to go outside when he would see roaming dogs or other cats . He would chase the other animals from "his" yard - yet never leave it! Barkley would hunt mice in the house; and carry two baby rabbits home to me in his mouth without harming one of them. Sabu wanted to eat him when he was first adopted, but Barkley seemed to sense that he was just not cat-converted yet: beating him up with batting paws that had wicked sharp claws retracted. Not once did he have to use them on Sabu. Cooper came many years later and tried to put Barkley's whole entire body into his wide old hippopotamus mouth - gently, of course - and Barkley went limp and let the dog pick him up, set him down and then lick him. Morning face washes are a favorite of Barkleys as he washed the dogs' faces in the morning while they are laying in wait outside the restroom. Barkley has also washed his foster puppy's face and played with her like he was a puppy too (Zimba - another RRUS family member!). So. Let's give it up for Barkley and his rescued Ridgies. And thanks, RRUS, for giving him a chance to convert still others who are not convinced that cats too, are the bomb.

3 Comments:

At 10/17/2007 8:26 PM, Blogger Amanda said...

Neat cat; what's his hourly rate? I am sure that there are many of us who could use Barkley to help our own dogs understand that a cat is not a toy!!

Love the pics,
Amanda

 
At 10/18/2007 11:35 AM, Blogger sibtigre2 said...

I also used to have a "cat-converter". He was awesome with the dogs that weren't real sure what the heck a cat was or, even worse, thought the cat was a snack! Unfortunately he has passed on to the Bridge and my current two are not as good at the job. I think every foster home needs a good "cat-converter"! Thank you so much for sharing the pictures of Barkley at work! :)

 
At 10/19/2007 6:49 PM, Blogger Patti A. said...

Barkley and Annie should join forces and change the cat hating dogs of the world. Annie does the paw swat thing too but she has no claws. It still works on the dogs though. They back up every time.
Patti

 

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