I’ve been debating several options, but I can’t think of a better solution. I don’t like it, but today I moved all of Luca’s things to our sun porch. That’s where she is now. That’s where she’ll be tonight, and for the foreseeable future.
About a week ago, she bit Camille. I thought surely it would happen during one of those times when Camille was pulling at her whiskers or grabbing her tail, but that wasn’t the case at all. Cami was sitting in my lap, happily slapping her open palm on our couch, enjoying the noise. Luca was sitting nearby, and found that baby hand too tempting. So she lept forward and bit Cami’s wrist. Lee saw it all happening, and launched the cat across the room before she could do any damage. But at that moment I knew we’d have to start really looking for other options for Luca.
I began asking around to see if anyone would be willing to give Luca a more suitable home. Meanwhile, I tried to limit the direct contact Luca had with Camille. This morning, I wanted to put Camille on our living room rug so she could crawl around, but Luca was lying there. So I made Luca move. This didn’t please her.
I sat Camille on the floor, and almost immediately, Luca dove for her and starting biting her arm. I intervened immediately – I’m not sure now what I did, maybe I screamed, lunged, both. But it scared Luca away, and I had to chase her around the dining room table a few times before I got her by the scruff of her neck and threw her into the laundry room and locked the door. Thankfully, she didn’t hurt Camille. But, shaking and seething, I knew that was the final straw.
When I was in college, I had a roommate with a little frou frou dog that Luca loved to take out her frustrations on. If, for example, I fussed at Luca for being on the countertops, she’d immediately go looking for the little dog. When she found it, she’d give it a nasty swat. She didn’t appreciate being admonished, but it made her feel better to assert her dominance over something else.
Apparently, Camille is now that “something else.” And that’s unacceptable. I hoped that somehow Luca would respect Camille, but that’s obviously not the case. And won’t ever be.
Now that I’ve had some time to calm down, I feel a little bad for Luca. She’s lived inside with me for 10 years, but now she’s been evicted. I can’t let her just be an outside cat because she doesn’t have her front claws. She’d be defenseless in a neighborhood full of strays. So instead, she’s been sent to the sun porch to spend her days and nights alone. I will try to spend some time with her, but it won’t be the same.
But she didn’t leave me many options. She only left me with a clear understanding that she can’t be trusted with Camille. And that’s the bottom line.