the santeelah war.....will it ever end?

I'm so annoyed by our pets! We currently have four pets (three cats and a puppy.) As with all animals...they have to establish a hierarchy before being able to coexist peacefully. Unfortunately, we have not reached that point.

Let me begin by telling the story of how we got to this point. A year and a half ago (2006), C and I were living in our 2nd apartment in Lincoln. We had no pets, but had briefly thought about getting a cat. My brother, AJ, was in college at the time and had purchased a pure-bred blue point Siamese from a fantastic breeder in Nebraska. He had asked us to watch her a few times, and each time we did, we brought her to our place. She LOVED it. I was home quite a bit, since I was still pretty sick after being diagnosed with Celiac Disease in January 2006. So in the Spring, we had been watching his kitty, Soco, on and off for a few weeks, and I absolutely fell in love with her. When he took her back to his apartment, I cried because I missed cuddling with her and having her around. So, Chris and I decided to get our own kitten from the same breeder and we promptly put our deposit in for our very own Siamese boy, Ami. Once again, my brother asked us to watch Soco. Since he was gone so often, I felt it was unfair to her to keep moving around (cats need routines!) and I said I wouldn't watch her unless he agreed to let us adopt her. After some thought, he agreed it was in her best interest....so in July we got Soco, and in August we got Ami. It took a few months for Soco to get used to having another cat around, but now they are best friends and they cuddle ALL the time....


So, how did we get from two to four you ask? Well, we moved to Nashville in June, 2007 and I had always wanted a puppy. After we'd bought our house, and I asked Chris if I could adopt a puppy from a shelter. He wasn't very enthusiastic...but he let me do it....(I think he gave in because I'd wanted one for so long.) I adopted Moby, supposedly a dachshund/chihuahua mix...though we swear he's a portugeso pequeno, in August, 2007 from P.A.W.S. shelter in Anna, IL. He definitely has some baggage coming from a shelter, but he's also come a long way. Then, in November, my friend Sally was visiting from Knoxville and we were down near Hillsboro village getting coffee and shopping, and I saw this little kitten laying on one of the jewelry cases in a local store. The quirky lady that owns the store partners with a shelter and adopts kittens out. I fell in LOVE with him. He is a huge cuddler....so I called C and he agreed to let me adopt him. The cats all took to each other quickly, and they get along just fine.....but the story does not end here.....

Soco is #1...top cat, top dog, top everything. Sometimes we have to remind her she's not a human. She runs the house, but she's quick to cuddle or settle any squabble....


Ami boy is at the bottom of the totem pole. He's the submissive one...and he rarely fights back or stands up for himself. He's so handsome!


Arthur and Moby............well, they are fighting for position #2. Unfortunately, this war has been raging for the past 6 months! When will it end? I am so sick of breaking up the fights between them. Nothing works. We've tried it all...from strategically placed water bottles, to keeping Moby on the first floor. Inevitably, Arthur makes his way downstairs to torment Moby...and the war rages on.....