Unlikely Friends

Murphy and Bailey have become the best of friends, sort of. Bailey thinks they are best friends and Murphy exploit s this to his advantage.

Kylie, our previous cat, was a lovely little kitten when we got him which was just before Sebastian was born. A few months later we took a holiday back to the states to introduce Sebastian to our family. Kylie was sent to a battery. He never recovered. He turned into a mean and horrible cat. One day Sebastian was crawling across the floor and Kylie grapped his little face with his claws. Seb bled. And cried. Kylie would swipe at your legs when you walked up the stairs with his claws out just for fun. I would cry each time he got me.

When we moved to our new home we hoped Kylie would burn off some excess energy out in the fields surrounding our house. He was less mean but never very nice.

Then Kylie disappeared. The week between Christmas 2004 and New Years 2005 Kylie went missing. We hung up posters and walked for hours around the area near our home. He never returned.

In March we went to a rescue centre for abused and abandoned pets with the intention of finding a new cat. We looked at the first room of cats and whilst they were all cute and needed a home, none of them connected with me. Which is odd really because I'm not much of a cat person.

Then we entered the second room. I walked straight up to the first cage on my left. And there he was. I thought I was being a bit foolish so I walked around all the other cages in that room. But I returned to the first one. I asked if we could open the cage and they said yes.

Murphy walked right up to me and nuzzled into my arms. He had a scab on his nose. He had been abandoned in an apartment with 2 other cats and the scab was from either pushing up against a door trying to get out or from licking condensation off a window. Murphy never let my hand leave his body.

We took him home. And he has turned into the best pet. He is very cuddly and greets us every night with a sweet meow. When Abigail is ill he keeps vigil by sleeping in front of her door.

Then in late November 2006 we decided we wanted to add a dog to the family unit. Yes, yes, yes: what were we thinking? Labradors were typically identified as the best family dog so we found ourselves a yellow lab.

When we went to the breeders she only had 2 left. One was a boy and one was a girl; brother and sister. The sister was bigger than the brother and she was a bit of a bully. The brother never seemed to get his far share of toy playtime or food. The brother went home with us. I am such a sucker for the underdog.

The first night of Bailey's arrival in our home, Murphy sat on the sideboard in the kitchen with his nose up in the air, thoroughly amused at what had arrived. He watched this little ball of fluff clumsily slide around the kitchen floor. I am sure he thought he wouldn't last long.

The next night, Murphy returned to the spot and with much disdain discovered that the fluff was still among us and gave Marc & I a very dirty look as if to say "You've got to be kidding."

Then he ran away. Actually he moved in with the next door neighbour and her cat, Tizzy, for 2 days. Then he came home and thought well I better figure out how to make this work.

Ever since then, Bailey and Murphy have forged a friendship, natural enemies learning to live and love together. When Murphy comes in from outside, Bailey comes running up to him. Murphy allows Bailey to lick the top of his head and the sides of his face. Sometimes Murphy lets Bailey smell his bottom. That's what good friends do apparently. Bailey waits for Murphy to fill himself when eating his breakfast and dinner, then Bailey moves in to finish it off.

When Murphy gets tired of him, he simply moves to higher ground and looks down on Murphy as he slides around the kitchen floor. Old habits are hard to break!