Miss Bella owns our neighborhood. I mean, we bought our house, but the actual neighborhood belongs to Bella. She is quite pretty, super sweet, and most people can't help but love her. However, she is a bit odd. She's that neighbor that just assumes you are available, regardless of the hour. It never occurs to her that you might be in the middle of an important phone call, eating dinner, or even bleeding because the kitchen attacked you. You will still drop what you are doing, staunch your wound, and attend her because you are living on her land and she feels entitled to your adulation. There are days when you might have the weird feeling that someone is watching you, and sure enough, Bella is in the middle of the backyard, glaring at the house. There have been times when I have felt the tingle on the back of my neck, only to turn around and find Bella on the front porch, her face literally half an inch from the window, just staring at me. If she was prone to wearing weird Halloween masks, I would have died of fright at least 3 times. I have heard stories about how Bella will just walk into your home and curl up on the sofa, or better yet, stretch out on your bed, and make herself at home. She hasn't done that to us, yet, but I have sort of seen it once. My friend and I were on her porch, talking about something random when sweet Bella strolled right by and into the open front door. We just stood there in shock as she got about 8 feet down the hall. Unfortunately for Bella, there are two very large dogs that live there, and they came thundering around the corner, convinced they were being invaded by enemy hoards who must die. (There is a gate that prevents them from actually going down that hallway, so she was in no real danger, but I admit they are still intimidating.) Bella flew out of the house, down the stairs, and into the hedge, shooting us a nasty look as she went by. See, Bella is a cat...
...and Jem HATES her. My boy is the sweetest thing ever, but he hates her with a passion. If you have read previous posts, you might remember the cat who lured my sweet boy out into the backyard..that was Bella. And she knows he hates her. She not only knows it, she relishes it. She loves nothing more than to get us outside, doing her bidding, while he watches from the window. She rolls around in the grass, loves up on us and tells us stories, and basically acts like a total show off. The entire time, he is clawing frantically at the glass, howling, at least as much as his little boy voice allows. It is as if he is trapped in a burning building. She will glance up at him and purr/growl in her weird little way.
Scout is not a fan, either. She typically pulls a "Bella" and finds a window where she can just sit quietly...staring...and passing judgment on us for fraternizing with the enemy. If Jem happens to go crashing into the room where Scout sits, he will flip out at her, and I will have to vacuum up enough loose fur to make another cat. She is nowhere near as crazed as her brother, but still not a fan. I think eventually Bella and Scout might be able to live in the same house, as long as each of them had their own floor, with maybe a floor between them. I am fairly certain Jem would pull the house down.
Several months ago, Jem caught sight of Bella while he was sitting in the sunroom (we had already reinforced it after his original Bella sighting and subsequent chase). As usual, he lost his mind. My teenager tried to convince him to go inside and calm down. She will likely wear the scars on her arm forever. I am not kidding. She came walking up to me with blood dripping down her arm, babbling something about cats. Being 'Mother of the Year' that I am, I ignored her and immediately turned my attention to the cats. Poor kid. We would eventually laugh about it, but I think she gladly would have kicked me if she hadn't been trying so hard not to become completely hysterical. Two weeks later, my sweet gifted child once again tried to remove an angry Jem from his perch while he was attempting to rain death down upon Bella, only this time he got her neck. Those scars have mostly faded. This is what happens when children grow up in a household with an unhinged mother who thinks every action by a cat requires discussion, applause, or panic. I am an idiot, and my children believe they are second class citizens behind the cats.
This afternoon, my younger child gave up on her dream of getting a dog and decided she wanted her own cat. This despite the fact that traitor Jem often curls up with her on the bed and acts like he is HER cat. She kept making cat puns and giving me sad eyes and the whole shebang. I am a sucker for cats, and she knows it. So, I proposed this: she can get a kitten when she convinces Jem to be friends with Bella. Since she hasn't personally experienced the terror that is a Bella / Jem encounter just yet, she gladly accepted the deal and started thinking of names. Meanwhile, the older child was standing behind her laughing her head off, mostly because she knows it will never happen.
You can't tame the beasts...they do what they want.