Many of our guests at the cats-only boarding facility are “only children” — they are they only pet in the house. Or at least the only cat. But we do have some families that come to stay. Some are actually related by blood; others are family in name and dynamic only.
Recently, we had a pair of male cats at the boarding facility. We didn’t have a crowded house, and were able to put the boys in an isolation room together. (When things are crowded, we often have to use the isolation rooms for overflow from the main boarding room.)
It was absolutely adorable to watch the two “brothers” interacting and playing. But it quickly became apparent that the bigger of the two was NOT the boss. Not at all. The smaller cat — a lean, tan fellow by the name of Solly — was most definitely the boss. It showed mainly in matters of the stomach: when dinner was served, the larger cat would back off and let little Solly have first pick of the eats. When Solly was done, then his brother would chow down.
We weigh our guests every other day to make sure nobody is losing or gaining too much. And after a few days, larger brother Larry — who outweighed his brother by at least five pounds — was losing weight… while Solly was holding steady. I tried chaperoning them at mealtimes, sitting in the isolation room to try to keep Solly away from the food while Larry ate. No luck.
Finally, we had to tuck Solly into a condo during mealtimes so Larry could eat his fill. That solution was the winner — Larry gained some weight back and everybody was happy.
As entertaining as their antics were, my favorite time to watch the boys was when they were sleeping. Nine times out of ten, they’d be curled up together. Solly often used his brother as a pillow. Adorable!