One of the main responsibilities associated with being a house-sitter is looking after the household animals.
We’ve had to care for a wide range from little fish up to a couple of bulls (and that’s no bull).
So a very important skill is being able to talk to them. Fortunately, Danita’s good with languages and so she’s great at picking up things like doggish and even cat-speak.
Of course, the key ingredient is the ability to listen effectively.
For animals which are supposed to lack language skills it’s amazing just how effectively they can communicate.
Each day we take Sancho for a walk. Sometimes, he’ll be amenable and happily walk with us checking out the local smells.
However, on other days he can be very definite about exactly where he wants to go. Often this is to a location which previously had some discarded food (he has an amazing memory). On these days he’ll stand his ground and refuse to budge until he gets his way. He’s able to do this with a facial expression very much like “You want me to go where? No way! I’m going this way and I’ll wait right here until you get the idea.”
The house we’re in at the moment has a cat with similar skills.
She was very quick to assert her authority over Sancho, who being a very laid-back, gentle soul (a lot like his owners really) was quite happy to cede control of the household. He has, however, retained possession of the bed we sleep in and I suspect is quite pleased to have regained his own bed. (For some reason every house we stay in which has a dog, Sancho’s bed becomes a focal point of doggy desire.)
Now this cat is prone to being very vocal. She makes her requirements felt quite definitely and vocally.
She makes it known when her litter tray needs emptying and when it’s time for dinner, although we do suspect that she is carrying out a campaign to adjust meal times so she can sneak in an extra one each day.
She’ also very insistent on having company when eating. I know it’s indicative of a problem when people are drinking alone (as in alcohol) but having a cat insist on having the light on and company present while eating is a new one for us. If there’s no-one standing with her while she eats she’ll leave her food, find you and then start meowing very loudly until you go to her food bowl with her.
Under normal circumstances we tend to make the animals fit our schedule, within reason, on the basis that they can’t complain to their owners about being mistreated (as in “They didn’t feed me at 5.25pm every day – it was just unacceptable behaviour and if you ever go away again and leave me I expect more reliable staff”).
However, in this instance sound seems to carry remarkably well around this neighbourhood (based on what we hear from the adjoining properties) and given how loudly this cat can protest we’re somewhat concerned that the neighbours might report back to the owners that we were strangling their cat (which we don’t do, but she certainly gives a good impression that we do).
As I mentioned above, thankfully Danita has excellent language skills and has been able to understand the cat’s demands. However, interestingly, the cat isn’t happy to have Danita hold and stroke her but is happy for me to do so.
She a great example of the saying “Dogs have masters, cats have staff” and I think she’ got her role demarcations worked out exactly the way she likes.