Kako has recently started acting out her aggressive tendencies in a completely new and laughable way, although it’s certainly not funny to Loki.

As you know, Kako and Loki are not the best of friends.  I’ve always suspected that the animosity in their relationship is based entirely on female competition.  I know: Loki’s a male cat, but he’s stunningly beautiful, prissy, consummately worried about his appearance, and overtly Kako-ish in his verbal abuse of others.  This has long made me suspect that he’s gay.  This, I think, is Kako’s problem with him: he represents a challenge to her dominance as the sole female in the house.

Both of them tend to avoid each other.  He always knows she will hit him arbitrarily if he gets too close, and Kako knows she cannot help but be intolerant of his presence.

Kako in recent months has taken this physical assault practice to a new level.

Let me provide a bit of background first.  All of the litter boxes are covered.  This is a necessity because both Loki and Grendel cannot help but toss litter out of the boxes during what can only be described as the fervent and unnecessarily overzealous need to cover things with great drama.  In fact, Grendel tries to cover the food and water bowls, my food if he gets close to it, glasses of water no matter where I leave them, and anything else deemed worthy of concealment.  Derek and I always laughed that we thought Grendel was trying to dig to China.  He is so obsessed with covering things that he often will swing by the litter box, discover that someone has not done a professional job of covering their business, and will then proceed to dig and cover and throw litter about so that he might demonstrate the proper form for such activities.

Loki, on the other hand, simply has the bad habit of great dramatic gestures when covering things in the litter box, and these sweeping moves tend to launch much of the litter out onto the floor.  There are times when he uses restraint, but most often, he shovels instead of covers.

Within the first year after adopting Grendel and Loki, much of my time each day was spent putting litter back in the boxes because at least half of it would be excavated by the time I returned home from work.  This litter quarrying also took place while I was home.  Whether it be while I was right there watching or already in bed trying to sleep, notification of the digging was always to be found in hearing the continued and strident scratching in the litter boxes.  I was never able to teach them not to do it, so eventually I switched to covered litter boxes to maintain some control over how much of it would end up on the floor.

Now, back to the Kako and Loki story…

Because the litter boxes are covered, there is only one way in and one way out.  A few months ago, I noticed Kako taking greater interest when Loki was going to the bathroom.  My first thought was that she had a gross toilet fetish.  That assumption was cast aside as it became clear that Loki was the only one she was watching.  This piqued my curiosity since, as I have already pointed out, they do not generally get along with each other.  What possible interest could there be in her watching her mortal enemy address his biological compulsions?  It would take only days after that for me to fully comprehend what she was up to.

As I sat on the couch reading one Sunday afternoon, I saw peripherally Loki climb into the litter box.  Kako, who had been resting just a few feet away, immediately got up and walked with great stealth until she was beside the box near the entrance.  She watched intently as Loki got situated, made his sacrifice to the great litter god, covered his business with great care, then turned to step out of the box.  This is when Kako made her move.

She immediately stood up and swatted his head as it poked out from the entrance.  Loki recoiled in horror as this took him completely by surprise.  I saw his eyes open wide and focus on the entrance where this hidden enemy was sheltered just out of sight.  With a bit more trepidation than before, he again made a move to exit the litter box, and again Kako began wildly swinging at him and hitting him in the face.

I laughed!  It was indeed a cruel trick to play, and she was quite serious in her determination.  She would not be swayed from antagonizing and terrorizing him, especially under circumstances where his superior physical prowess was nullified.  There was only one way in and one way out, and she had it covered from a safe vantage point where she was unreachable so long as he was in the box.  Any attempt to stick his head out immediately resulted in more attacks.  Clever girl.

My attempt to reprimand her was futile because of my own laughter.  Despite that failure, it did get her attention for the brief moment Loki needed, so he used that second of her inattention to leap from the box.  Kako, in turn, bolted.  She stands no chance against him when they are on equal footing.  He’s larger, stronger, faster, and more athletic, not to mention a whole lot meaner, and she knows clearly that he will clean her clock if necessary, something she is ill prepared to stop.

This new game continues to occur anytime she realizes he’s in one of the litter boxes.  It’s not all the time, so he does find opportunity to deal with his bathroom obligations without interference.  I still cannot help but be entertained by it when it does happen.  I chastise her, of course, and remind her that he doesn’t bother her when she’s going potty, but as usual she doesn’t listen to me and continues tormenting him when possible.