Hi, so I'm a very proud cat mother of two. These are my babies, Milky (left) and Jyn (right) and, though they love each other and cuddle all the time, they are not without their weird inter-sibling drama (mostly revolving around food and human attention).
Well, this week when Reddit user cieuxrouges asked, "Redditors who own multiple pets: what’s the drama going on amongst them right now?" I've never felt more SEEN as a pet parent.
Here are just a few of the ~most dramatic~ pet sibling scuffles:
1. This mix-up:
"Well, for seven years my cat Dusty ate on the right and my other cat Misty ate on the left, side by side. Then, one day earlier this year, Dusty decided she didn't want to be a right-eater anymore, so she unilaterally moved over to the left. This completely puzzled Misty, who will now sit there to the left of the bowl watching Dusty eat for a solid minute before realizing she has to go around to the right now.
The bowls are the same. The food hasn't changed. Dusty just decided the right side wasn't for her anymore and now she wants to be a left-eater, and I guess Misty just has to deal with it."
2. This hilarious retaliation:
"My new kitten has been stealing food from my older cat’s bowl, so the older cat has started to literally stick out her paw and trip the kitten whenever she walks by."
3. This flirtation(?):
"My peacock keeps rattling his feathers at the cats. The cats don’t seem to care, but this is usually a mating behavior, so it seems a little misplaced..."
4. This sneaky stealer:
"My cat is pretty old now, so she eats small portions of her meals over several hours. However, my dog has started sneaking into the kitchen and eating her meal before she's done, so she comes back and sees that her food has been eaten. She'll then meow incessantly until someone in the house gives her more food.
She KNOWS it's the dog, so whenever she sees them, they have a standoff where she snarls. She also makes it a point to drink my dogs water, instead of her own, in retaliation."
5. This blossoming romance:
"My mom’s 10-year-old cat is staying with us for a few days and our golden retriever loves cats, but he's never spent a ton of time around them until now.
He is absolutely ENCHANTED by her. He follows her around all day so he can watch her do cat things, like scratch a scratching post! Or tinkle in a box! Or roll around in catnip! He keeps trying to roll around in catnip himself, but is newly confused every time something magical doesn’t happen to him.
She appears unimpressed by her big new friend, but we can all tell she secretly likes him."
6. This herder:
"My corgi constantly tries to herd our cat. The cat will be sleeping in a chair, minding her business when he sneaks up and gives her a little nip on the neck. This happens between two and five times a day. They've been living under the same roof for almost TWO YEARS. No amount of hissing or swipes deters him. He always thinks she's just playing with him."
7. This rude reaction:
"I grew up with possibly the only lazy Australian Shepherd on the planet, her name was Ruby. When Ruby was ten we adopted a second Aussie named Katie. Katie was a sweetheart who wanted to play catch all day, and Ruby was a grump who wanted to catch Katie's ball and sit on it so she couldn't play anymore. Ruby was always a bit chunky, but her drive to ruin Katie's fun was so strong she actually lost weight running to steal her ball."
8. This smart sister:
"My girl ferret taught the boy ferrets how to get into the closet because she likes to feel smart and thinks she won't get in trouble if the boys are ALSO doing it. I've also previously caught her teaching the boys how to unzip the cushions on the couch in their room to hide inside. She is honestly too much sometimes, the sneaky scoundrel."
9. This bodyguard:
"We’re currently pet sitting a friend’s tortoise while their family is on vacation. We took the tortoise out so they could walk in the grass while we were doing yard work, and our dog decided to follow it around and bark at the cats when they came too close, causing some drama amongst the neighborhood cats."
10. This ultimate betrayal:
"I have a cat and a dog. We are currently living in a two-bedroom apartment while we wait to move into our house. The cat and dog are both unhappy with the lack of space, but the dog has it slightly better because he gets to take a walk around the city twice a day; however, the dog is now bearing a noticeable grudge against the cat because we've started taking the cat up and down the corridors for daily 'walks.'
The dog hears the clink of the leash as we put it on the cat and comes running, ready for another walk. His usual level of token harassment of the cat has definitely increased."
11. This stand-off:
"I have two dogs who are truly bosom buds, except for when the food comes out. My female dog stands over her food and barks instead of eating it, regardless of what my male dog is doing. This includes: Eating his own food, sleeping in another room, or even not being in the house at all. She's a bit of a drama queen."
12. This high-five:
"My puppy understood that a whack from the cat meant that the cat didn't want to play, but then we taught the puppy to high-five. He got SO EXCITED the next time the cat held up a threatening paw, that he immediately high-fived him. The cat was not nearly as impressed as I was."
13. This sofa sacrifice:
"My partner and I have a Greyhound and a cat. Generally they just ignore each other, but lately the cat has taken a liking to sitting on the sofa. The greyhound LOVES the sofa, so he gets really jealous if we are patting the cat while she's in her spot. To solve this, he’s taken to coming right up to our faces and doing this high-pitched BARK, which scares the heck out of me every damn time."
14. This "new toy":
"Every time I put the hamster in his hamster ball, the dog thinks it’s a great new toy for him and wants to play fetch with it. The hamster is, understandably, less enthused about the idea and is terrified. Now the dog has to be closed in one bedroom whenever I let the hamster go for a run in his ball, which has caused some resentment."
15. And finally, this jealous snuggle:
"My dog is jealous that my cat gets pets from me, so she'll run over and literally place herself in my lap like a cat if she sees that he's headed my way."
Do YOUR pets have some wild sibling drama? Share your story (and a picture of them, please, I want to see more pets) in the comments below!
