Oooh, Oooh . . . Cat Fight!

I apologize for hitting you with two cat stories in a row.

Last Thursday and Friday I was in Hotlanta for work. When I got home I collapsed into one of the living room chairs and Jackson (my grey tabby) jumped into my lap.

Jackson is a fairly easy-going cat, and he's also extremely affectionate. We adopted him in February of 2000 and on the ride home he nestled into my pea coat with his paws around my neck: he purred the whole way home and it was love from that moment on. I know I'm not supposed to have a favorite, but Jackson is mine.

When it's time to go to bed he'll hop up and snuggle up next to me. If I move even an inch away he'll wiggle over to me until he is nestled against me. I realize that this is starting to sound like a 3rd grade essay assignment, but my love for Jackson is quite deep. (Okay, it's pathetic really.)

So, imagine my horror when I started petting him on Friday and I felt crusty bumps on his tail. And, when I got to the crusty bumps he let out the most pitiful wail. It made my heart leap and I was thisclose to running him straight to the vet. I didn't because the vet was closed and Jack was still eating and playing so overall he seemed okay.

My heart broke the following morning when I saw him trying to get comfy on the bed and he tried to fall asleep with the front half of his body on the bed and his back half hovering over the mattress.

That was it: my baby was in pain and I couldn't take it.

So, off to the vet we went and what oh what did they find?

Bite marks.

Jack, although he is my favorite, can be a bit of an asshole you see.

He is what my mom would call, an instigator. He likes to start shit with the female cats in the house. Often he will jump on a peacefully sleeping Sweet Pea simply because her spot on the bed looks good to him.

He's a bit of a bully.

I don't have proof of it or anything, but it seems awfully coincidental that Sweet had blood around her face and mouth just a few days before I felt his scabby tail. She's lived with him for two years now and I guess she'd had enough of it.

Jack really hasn't been the same since this whole ordeal. He's been sleeping more than usual and he's keeping his distance from Sweet Pea.

I can't say that I blame him.

Bitch is crazy.