Cats have been a part of my household for over forty years; no, not the same cats, but various ones over the years. Many have been protective of their kittens or litter mates or even of their human family members to some extent, but none have been attack cats like Funny Face. Funny Face choose me; I did not choose him. We had a spayed female named G.G. when my husband brought two kittens home from an auction as a favor for a friend. A brother and sister left from a litter of twelve kittens needed homes. My husband offered help. Funny Face decided that he had found a home and a person of his own. The first time Funny Face showed protective tendencies, my husband was gone overnight, and the cat, who slept by my feet, jumped from the bed, growling. He ran to the front door, still growling. He rushed to the kitchen and followed the path inside that someone took around the outside of the house, growling constantly. He stood at the back door listening for a couple of minutes, and we both heard someone climb over the back fence. Funny Face ran back to the bed, hopped in his regular spot, and immediately went to sleep. After that, anytime my husband wasnt home, Funny Face became the protector. When my husband was home, guess the cat decided protection was the mans job. One night, we heard Funny Face yowling outside. Thinking he was hurt, I ran to the door, switching on the light before going out on the porch. I called Funny Face, and he sped to me, his fur and tail literally standing on end. He stopped in front of me and turned to face the blackness beyond the light. My husband joined me before we saw the dog, a broken chain dangling from his collar. Robert sat on the bench on the porch and called the dog to him, hoping to find a phone number or something on the tag which also hung from the collar. Funny Face pressed against my legs as I told him everything was okay. My husband grasped the dogs collar, trying to read the tag, but he couldnt hold dog and tag. He asked me to see if I could read it. I moved toward the dog, and Funny Face leaped toward the dog, growling and spitting. I scooped the cat into my arms, but he didnt calm down until I moved back into the house. The dog took off, never to be seen by us again. One time I was in the back yard, and a dog on the other side of the solid wood fence started barking. Funny Face took a defensive stance, once again putting himself between me and the perceived danger, growling and ready to attack. Researching has not helped me discover if Funny Faces behavior is common. I cannot find any information about a cat acting as he does. Perhaps no one has told him that he is a cat, not a dog. Aggression that others write about concerns cat versus cat or cat aggression toward a person, even its owner, but no word about a protectiveness toward its person. Funny Face, though, is my attack cat, and anything or anyone who might try to harm me would have to go through him. Here, pretty kitty. Thats a good boy. "To gain the friendship of a cat is a difficult thing. The cat is a philosophical, methodical, quiet animal, tenacious of its own habits, fond of order and cleanliness, and it does not lightly confer its friendship. If you are worthy of its affection, a cat will be your friend, but never your slave. He keeps his free will, though he loves, and he will not do for you what he thinks is unreasonable. But if he once gives himself to you it is with absolute confidence and affection!" Theophile Gautier, 1850 |
