Sibling Rivalry

It is so fun having all these animals in our apartment and watching them interact with one another. Right away, Blacula let Basil know she was in charge, and every now and then she will just walk through the house, hissing and/or batting at whatever creature she passes. She still loves to surprise-chase Frida, and Frida still hates her for it. Blacula has no desire to play with Basil but enjoys being in the same room with him and watching him spaz out while looking at him like, What the hell are you? Basil is super respectful of her space and doesn't push it at all anymore because his nose got smacked one too many times.

However, Basil has a serious crush on Frida, following her around the house and constantly trying to play (he gets boners when he's around her!). He'll also get really close to her when she's sleeping, once even nibbling on her tail, but then she'll wake up and get spooked. She's totally in love with him too though, just a little weirded out and still figuring out how to play. She'll sit on the bed, get his attention, then sprint through the bedroom, the bathroom and into the bathtub and he'll come running and flop down by the tub. Then they'll make eye contact and she'll sprint back to the bed, him in tow and flopping down on the floor beside her corner of the bed. Then they repeat; it's sooo cute. Frida also sniffs him when he's sleeping and they're getting closer to each other when both are napping. I'm seriously excited for some future cuddling. Yesterday, Frida came all the way out into the living room (huge for her!) just to playfully bat at him! This morning she did the same thing, and he got so excited that he spazzed out and she freaked, running back to her hiding place in the bedroom window sill. He sadly resorted to a tennis ball instead.

The most intense rivalry comes out surrounding food time, which is a pretty lively and hilarious few minutes for us. Blacula is a beast when it comes to food, always trying to scavenge anything. She wants to eat all the time, literally inhales her food without chewing, and then will go chase Frida away and eat Frida's food, too. It took a lot of work to convince Frida to stick up for herself and to train Blacula to stop eating her food (meaning Bla will lay a foot from Frida while she's eating and Frida will anxiously eat under Blacula's stare). But since Basil has joined the fam, Frida has gained this confidence she didn't have before (perhaps his affections have boosted her?). Recently, she came all the way into the kitchen, and ate some of Blacula's food!!! Bla was beside herself, hissing and growling and charging at Frida. Frida ran off and hid, sooo proud of herself, and Bla went into the bedroom and started eating Frida's food. Then, Basil ran in and finished Blacula's food! Blacula heard him, abandoned Frida's bowl and went into the kitchen to find her bowl empty. So she ran over to Basil's bowl and started to eat his food! This really pissed off Basil, so he came into the kitchen, barking and growling, and before she ran off, Blacula smacked him. Then, he didn't even eat his food but rather laid down right in front of it. Meanwhile, Frida retreated from the window sill and finished her food in peace. They are soooo crazy!

Animals are fun. I'm very thankful to have all of them! Every second I'm at home, I'm interacting with a creature in some way, and I love it. Either a cat or dog or guinea pig are asking for food, or cuddling, or playing, or licking me, or something. It's glorious! All of you, go out and adopt a pet right now!