Smart Animals: Like to suit themselves

Over Christmas time, we brought home a scar-faced, stray cat that instantly befriended our kitten. The two would relax in front of the fire and groom each other for hours. Then, all of a sudden their playfulness would turn to bites, leading to a cat-wrestling match right there on the carpet. This continued every day; they were affectionate with each other, then suddenly turned into enemies.

One day their fighting became ridiculous. We heard screeching and hissing coming from the bedroom and raced down to find the two cats engaged in an intense battle under the bed. There were scraps of cat fur on the floor so we pulled them apart and sent them outside via separate doors.

Later that evening, I went to call the cats back in, only to find them snuggled up, sleeping together in the cat basket outside. I tried to call them in but they simply stretched back, shut their eyes and went back to sleep.