Friendships
What makes two people become friends? Two individuals of diverse background, different culture,
opposite gender, sometimes a great difference in age occasionally feel something in each other that attracts them. Is it a common interest? Or something that cannot be identified and labeled?
This seems to happen, and not all that infrequently if you are to judge by the many and varied postings on u tube, among animals. I am sure anyone who has owned more than one pet at any time has seen very
obvious preferences of one animal for another. Three pets are together in one household, and while they may all tolerate each other, almost certainly there will be two who will be more attentive to each other-more often found together. Those two might well be of differing species.
People seem to bond over a common interest, two young women each with a child, for example. I once had two barn cats who shared child care duty. They had kittens within a day of each other tucked into a nest in the hay in the barn loft. I discovered eight kittens in the nest one morning and had never heard of a common domestic cat having a litter that size. The morning I discovered the babies, the black cat, Lucy, was nursing them. That evening, when once again in the loft, I checked on the kittens to find all were well fed and content. Before I climbed down the ladder I witnessed Tiger-Lil, the other barn cat, stepping gently in among the sleeping kittens and settling down to wash their pansy faces. Lucy sat nearby. These
two cats obviously trusted each other. They had worked out a plan to care for their many babies together.
Was this a friendship of necessity? Not likely since they could easily have had two nests and cared for their own unaided. So what made them decide to share the load in this manner? Those little kittens all grew up to leave the loft and would follow either mother indiscriminately. l found new homes for all as
that would have been more cats than any one barn ought to shelter! Lucy and Tiger-Lil each had more
litters in the following years, but never again shared the nursery duty.
My Border collie, Daisy, had a special pal. I taught agility classes on Saturday mornings. After class we
let the dogs free to run in the ring while we tossed balls for them to chase. Daisy singled out a Spaniel
called Tripper- a dog about her size and speed, as a playmate. Those two ignored the other dogs, preferring to chase each other, to run after the same ball. Then at last, to lie down under the shade of the tree, tongues hanging out, to rest. On Saturday morning as the dogs arrived, Daisy stood watch until Tripper came through the gate. Then tail waving gaily she rushed over to touch noses, saying "Hi" to her friend. An obvious preference just as two small children, in a group of their peers, will, often without words, take hands and go to the sandbox to begin a project of their joint making.
The oddest friendship I have ever personally witnessed was the one between Nikamew, my Siamese cat and Eric the Red, a Beta. (Yes, a fish). I had a table which sat before a window which looked out upon the bird feeder hanging in a Dogwood tree. Nikamew, an indoor cat, spent many hours there watching the birds. Cat TV I called it, . One day I was given a small aquarium. I went to the pet store returning
with a red Beta swimming in tight circles in a plastic bag. I set the aquarium on Nikamew's table where I thought the fish might enjoy the light. Nikamew jumped up to check out this new thing. He touched his nose to the top of the water. To my horror, Eric swam up to the top, touching his nose to that of the cat.
Nikamew showed no mal intent. He seemed mesmerized by this new creature. Every morning until the
day Eric died, Nikamew would put his nose--never his paw--into the aquarium, and Eric would come instantly to touch his nose against that of the cat. They would stay like that for a few minutes Then Nikamew would go about doing cat things for a time while Eric went about doing fish things. During the afternoons Nikamew would once again jump up on he table. He would lie down close against the side of the tank. Eric would come down to the bottom and lie right against the wall with their bodies touching (except for the glass partition between them.) When Eric died- I had no idea how old he was when I bought him, but he had not appeared to be ill at any time- I buried the fish in my pet cemetery.
I did not let Nikamew see his friend without life. Maybe I should have. I do not know how much animals understand about death. Nikamew looked for Eric for a few days, then seemed to forget all about him.
opposite gender, sometimes a great difference in age occasionally feel something in each other that attracts them. Is it a common interest? Or something that cannot be identified and labeled?
This seems to happen, and not all that infrequently if you are to judge by the many and varied postings on u tube, among animals. I am sure anyone who has owned more than one pet at any time has seen very
obvious preferences of one animal for another. Three pets are together in one household, and while they may all tolerate each other, almost certainly there will be two who will be more attentive to each other-more often found together. Those two might well be of differing species.
People seem to bond over a common interest, two young women each with a child, for example. I once had two barn cats who shared child care duty. They had kittens within a day of each other tucked into a nest in the hay in the barn loft. I discovered eight kittens in the nest one morning and had never heard of a common domestic cat having a litter that size. The morning I discovered the babies, the black cat, Lucy, was nursing them. That evening, when once again in the loft, I checked on the kittens to find all were well fed and content. Before I climbed down the ladder I witnessed Tiger-Lil, the other barn cat, stepping gently in among the sleeping kittens and settling down to wash their pansy faces. Lucy sat nearby. These
two cats obviously trusted each other. They had worked out a plan to care for their many babies together.
Was this a friendship of necessity? Not likely since they could easily have had two nests and cared for their own unaided. So what made them decide to share the load in this manner? Those little kittens all grew up to leave the loft and would follow either mother indiscriminately. l found new homes for all as
that would have been more cats than any one barn ought to shelter! Lucy and Tiger-Lil each had more
litters in the following years, but never again shared the nursery duty.
My Border collie, Daisy, had a special pal. I taught agility classes on Saturday mornings. After class we
let the dogs free to run in the ring while we tossed balls for them to chase. Daisy singled out a Spaniel
called Tripper- a dog about her size and speed, as a playmate. Those two ignored the other dogs, preferring to chase each other, to run after the same ball. Then at last, to lie down under the shade of the tree, tongues hanging out, to rest. On Saturday morning as the dogs arrived, Daisy stood watch until Tripper came through the gate. Then tail waving gaily she rushed over to touch noses, saying "Hi" to her friend. An obvious preference just as two small children, in a group of their peers, will, often without words, take hands and go to the sandbox to begin a project of their joint making.
The oddest friendship I have ever personally witnessed was the one between Nikamew, my Siamese cat and Eric the Red, a Beta. (Yes, a fish). I had a table which sat before a window which looked out upon the bird feeder hanging in a Dogwood tree. Nikamew, an indoor cat, spent many hours there watching the birds. Cat TV I called it, . One day I was given a small aquarium. I went to the pet store returning
with a red Beta swimming in tight circles in a plastic bag. I set the aquarium on Nikamew's table where I thought the fish might enjoy the light. Nikamew jumped up to check out this new thing. He touched his nose to the top of the water. To my horror, Eric swam up to the top, touching his nose to that of the cat.
Nikamew showed no mal intent. He seemed mesmerized by this new creature. Every morning until the
day Eric died, Nikamew would put his nose--never his paw--into the aquarium, and Eric would come instantly to touch his nose against that of the cat. They would stay like that for a few minutes Then Nikamew would go about doing cat things for a time while Eric went about doing fish things. During the afternoons Nikamew would once again jump up on he table. He would lie down close against the side of the tank. Eric would come down to the bottom and lie right against the wall with their bodies touching (except for the glass partition between them.) When Eric died- I had no idea how old he was when I bought him, but he had not appeared to be ill at any time- I buried the fish in my pet cemetery.
I did not let Nikamew see his friend without life. Maybe I should have. I do not know how much animals understand about death. Nikamew looked for Eric for a few days, then seemed to forget all about him.
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