Evil Kitty

I've come to a rather disturbing conclusion this week. My cat—my adorable kitty with whom I have had an unrequited love affair since first bringing her home over a year ago—is a misogynist. It's true. For a year now, I have wondered why Molly is so incredibly sweet and gentle with Lucas and Nicholas, but attacks Sophie with glee. She tolerates me and Ruanita, only because we are so much larger than her, I think. But she can not stand Sophie. From day one, she has been out to get Sophie. She will attack her out of the blue as Sophie is minding her own business. Sophie will be sitting in the living room chair coloring and Molly will suddenly, and without provocation, attack her. Just walk up to her all sweet and loving and then swiftly and unexpectedly bat her in the head. Lucas can pick Molly up and drag her all over the house and she will not so much as hiss at him. Sophie's mere presence in the same room Molly occupies is enough to set her off. I always thought Molly simply didn't like Sophie for whatever reason. However, since bringing our new dog Stella home, I am convinced that Molly hates ALL females. She is the epitome of a misogynist.

Rather than getting better over the last few days, Molly's aggression toward Stella has worsened. She spends her entire day stalking the poor dog. She will follow her from room to room, whipping her tail around behind her, a look of determined glee on her face. Stella is her prey and she is a master hunter. She waits patiently until she has the opportunity to back Stella up into a corner. Then she lets loose on her, swatting her with both claws. Poor Stella is pitiful. If a dog can curl up into a fetal position, that is what Stella does. Head down, curled up in a ball, trying to avoid the onslaught. She refuses to come into the house if Molly is in view. She tries to avoid all rooms that Molly enters. She tries climbing into my lap when she sees Molly. She's a little large to be a lap dog. Yesterday afternoon, Molly was stalking her, so she followed me into the bathroom. Try doing your business with a forty-pound dog wedging itself into the six-inch space between the wall and your bare butt as you sit on the toilet. Fun stuff.

So what do I do with my misogynistic cat? How can I handle my feline woman-hater? Try as we might to keep them separated, Molly's stalking continues. Sophie is probably relieved that the object of Molly's ire has changed. Sophie is no longer her primary target. Poor Stella, however, is terrified. She is really only happy and secure when she is outside—out of the grasp of the evil kitty. That, however, makes it difficult to get her back inside. Last night, I spent 45 minutes outside in the dark at ten o'clock trying to get the dog to come back inside. She thought it was a game, despite my cursing. I am sure I was quite a sight chasing her around the back yard. She would sit still until I was almost within arms length of grabbing her. Then she would bark happily and take off running. She wanted me to chase her and I just wanted to go to bed.

So what do I do? Spraying Molly with a water bottle is not a detriment. Locking her upstairs does nothing to change her behavior once I let her out. She continues to stalk the poor, pitiful puppy. I am afraid I am going to end up with a vengeful, evil cat and a timid, victimized dog. Yea....really fun pets, huh?