A Dog and A Cat

 

Mr. Tux, my six-year-old dog, has been in pain these days. First, let me introduce Mr. Tux. His name was given by my older daughter, who said, “He looks like wearing a tuxedo!” His whole body has black hair except for white hair from under the chin to his belly. His breed is Cocker-Poo, mixed with a Cocker-Spaniel, known for its strength, and a poodle famous for its smartness. The Cocker Spaniel breed was originally trained as a hunting dog in England. This might explain Tux’ stubbornness. He would not let go of his toy when tugging it with me. It is surprising to see Tux, always very docile and weighing only about 25 pounds, so strong and tenacious. He always looks like an exemplary, healthy dog with his well-greased nose and shiny black hair.

Such a stout dog, Tux, made such choking sounds as 'kack-kack' for a few days, as if he would be about to vomit. At first, I thought he might have eaten something wrong. But he did not throw up anything and continued making choking sounds all night long. I took him to his vet. The vet told me that his sounds like Kennel coughing and asked me if he recently had been to a place like a kennel where many dogs had gathered. She added that as kids get sick with contagious colds and viruses in a day care center, so do dogs with these symptoms in places like a kennel.

“No. The only recent change was that a kitten came to my house.” I replied. My older daughter brought a black kitty from California a few weeks ago after her first year in college. She adopted the kitty on a shopping mall street after her part-time work at the end of May. “A woman with nine kitties was begging to adopt one of them. She said that they would be euthanized unless they were adopted within two weeks if they were sent to a shelter. I had no choice but to rescue one. My friend also adopted one with me.” My daughter hid the kitty in the college dorm for a few weeks, spent $100 extra on the airline and carried the cat from California to D.C..

Born in the Dog’s year, I’ve never been attracted to a cat before and never had one close to me. Cats’ eyes seemed quite creepy to me, and I did not like their furtive moving as well as their haughty attitudes, unlike dogs obedient to the owner. With no base, I also thought cats were loners. With this black kitty, named Shuri, I have realized how foolish it is to have prejudice and to judge without personal experience. My daughter named the kitty as “Shuri” as she thought the kitty reminded her of the African princess “Shuri” from the movie “Black Panther” released earlier this year.

At the moment my daughter opened the kitty bag after arriving home, Shuri jumped out of the bag and stared around with her curious eyes wide-open. When Tux barked “woof-woof!”, the startled kitty jumped up on my daughter’s back. As Shuri got used to the new place little by little, she revealed mischievous herself by sneakily approaching to Tux, hitting him with her foot and fleeing quickly. She is also full of curiosity, walking around every corner of the house, and climbing into every pot all over the place. Then, when she gets tired, she comes up to me and pushes her head out, asking me to pat her. Compared to Tux, who asks me by touching with his paw, Shuri approaches me with her whole body.

Wondering if all the cats would behave like this, I searched about different breeds of cats. The pictures of the Bombay cats resemble Shuri. The Bombay cat is explained as very sociable and adoring, so it gets along well with children and enjoys greeting guests. Quickly Shuri became a mischievous darling in my home and charmed any visitors. 

Around that time, about two weeks after Shuri came, the symptoms of Tux’ coughing started. When I took him to the vet at the end of June, the vet said that it would be a virus, not caused by a cat, and it would pass by a few days just like a person’s sore throat. She asked me to observe him closely, as she would need to see him again if he does not get better in a few days.

After the visit to the vet, Tux seemed to get better a little bit for a few days and then started coughing again since last weekend. So I had to take him again to the animal hospital. I could add his appointment to the appointment I already made for Shuri’s second vaccination. Fortunately, the same vet who checked Tux before was assigned. After examining him very thoroughly, she diagnosed it must be allergy. As the only change in his environment was a cat, she suspected he might be allergic to a cat. Allergy! Allergy is an instinctive rejection of your body against what you do not want to accept. At that moment, I remembered Tux watching at a distance Shuri affectionately held by my kids or their friends.

When my daughter was a toddler, she used to scream while sleeping, “It’s mine! No, it’s mine!” “The more we get together, together, together/ The more we get together/ The happier we’ll be/ ‘Cause your friends are my friends/ And my friends are your friends…” I used to sing a Barney song with my daughter when she had some trouble with sharing. A child learns how to share while growing up, even if she does not like it, and accepts the unwelcome reality as a trial for growth. How should I teach this to Tux? 

"Love is not divided and diminished by sharing; instead, it makes all live more abundantly," I whispered to him gently patting him on the head. Tux gazed at me with his clear eyes. 

Tux still makes choking sounds from time to time, yet has become a good friend with Shuri.

(September 2018)