I originally wrote about my cats starting (after living together for more that 3 years) to fight each other on May 8th. Well they are still not on good terms but are basically keeping themselves separated with a few leery looks and hisses now and then. The older cat (Minnie – also mom to Trouble, the younger cat), seems to stroll around like normal – obviously, she’s the more dominant cat. Trouble sneaks around, hides, and basically tries to stay out of Minnie’s way. When Trouble is sure that Minnie isn’t around, she will play with us but she’s just not her normal purring self.

The other night, my son slept on the living room couch and Trouble was curled up on the back of the couch. He said, just as he was drifting off, Trouble looked up and started to hiss but he couldn’t see anything that she should be hissing about – Minnie wasn’t in the room. She laid back down and went to sleep so he did too. I started to watch her closer and there are times that she will be walking through the living room and her tail starts to twitch (like she’s upset with something) and her skin sort of ruffles down her backside – if I had to relate it to something human, it would be like us getting a sudden chill and we would shiver. When I first saw that, it dawned on me that this is the cat that my Dad just did not like and his ashes are in the living room cabinet. He never cared too much for any cat but she is the sprayer and once sprayed something right in front of him and that disturbed him a lot. I’ve noticed that Trouble hasn’t sprayed anything since Minnie has started to flex her dominance.

Could it be possible that Dad has a hand in this?
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Gosh Connie, I don't know. I'm having to hop off the bandwagon on this one. =D Do you think your Dad may be doing this purposely or is he just watching over things? Maybe you should have a talk with him. You know, just tell him that what's going on with your cats is upsetting you and ask him not to show himself to Trouble or maybe move his ashes to a different place of honour and explain to him why. Just some suggestions, truthfully I'm in over my head with this one. I'm glad though that the cats are working things out even if they're not getting along to well.

Renee :crazy:

I've thought about it and it's kind of hard to pinpoint if this would be out of character for my Dad. In life, if he'd see us kids doing something that we shouldn't, he'd always yell for my Mom to do something about it but then again, we knew that the "big bear" persona that most people saw was just a cover. The neighborhood kids were always good as gold when he was around because they didn't want to make him mad (they didn't know his bark was a lot worse than his bite.) My chow and Minnie had no problem making up to my Dad but Trouble always gave him a wide birth and I guess that is what makes me suspicious.

The cabinet I keep Dad's ashes in is a glass doored china cabinet (no china - just Dad and all the little things the kids have made for me over the years.) I guess I'll give the cabinet a good dusting and have a talk with Dad just in case.

P.S.
Mom has decided to take Dad to the family cemetary in West Virginia in August. It will make his elderly Aunts happy to have him memorialized down there and it will make her happy to have a place where she will go when her time comes.

Connie, that is a good idea, to dust, and have a little talk with your dad. I'll bet it is his presence that is effecting Trouble. Animals are so very sensitive to things like this, and if the cat disliked him in life, she probably feels the same, now that he is in the spiritual plane. Some things like this go really deep... I think it is kind of like people meeting someone and taking an immediate dislike to them... sometimes that can be attributed to dealings with the other person in a past life that were unpleasant. Somehow, our psyche never forgets these things. Animals are probably the same way. At least, I think so. =)

azspirit

Here’s a little side note – when I return from my trip, I asked my hubby if the cats had been getting along and he said after I left (took Dad’s ashes with me) they started acting more like normal. Sure enough, things seem more normal to me too. I still haven’t caught Trouble spraying anything so maybe that was Dad’s goal all along.

:jump:

hehe... That's great news! Kinda spooky, but great! =O!

Kell

Holy Smokes Connie! The cats must be relieved?

I'm glad that things are going better for the cats. Such a strange thing. I wonder why your dad took such a disliking to Trouble. Must have been a personality conflict.

Renee

All I can add here is, I always rely on my cats to let me know what's going on (unseen) in the house. My older cat Spooky does that "thing" sometimes too that seems like she got a chill up her back and then she usually starts running around like crazy and licking herself. Spooky LOVED my dad and I think when he comes to visit it just makes her really excited or maybe even nervous.

When a passed loved one comes to visit they will do things to get your attention, so be sure to acknowledge to your dad that you know he is there, as that is very important to them. Thanks for sharing your story!

Cindy