Because Rosy asked...

( Meme behind the cut )

I don't generally tag people, but if you want to do it consider yourself tagged. You can find the link here.

Fear the Bad Cat Bottle!

I got the chance to make a practical demonstration of the Bad Cat Bottle and its effectiveness on cats not my own last night.

There's a stray white cat around here that baronscartop and ai731 have christened "Snowball," a name I have adopted as well. Snowball very much enjoys coming up on both my balconies and taunting my cats, who for the most part have stopped reacting to him. He still does it, though.

So last night around 1am I was treated to the sound of very, very loud yowling. For a moment I thought it was one of my cats doing the yowling, but a moment's careful listening allowed me to conclude that it was in fact coming from outside. Peeking through the window, I saw Snowball in a Mexican stand-off with another tiger-striped cat, on my front balcony. There was a great deal of posturing, hissing and spitting and growling and yowling, each cat apparently determined to make its stand right under my front window.

I rapped on the window and said "Psshht!" loudly, and they both vacated at once. Ten minutes later, they were back. So I grabbed the Bad Cat Bottle, opened the front door, and while the strange cat immediately ran off, Snowball stood his ground long enough to get a blast of water along one flank. Then he fled.

Ten minutes later, they were back. They both ran off again the moment I opened the door. Ten minutes later, Snowball was back, by himself. This time, he didn't run when I approached. He got a facefull of water for his pains, and I didn't hear him again for the rest of the night. I'm hoping he learned his lesson. My front balcony is NOT the OK Corral.

Neighbourhood cats, ye be warned.