An Unlikely Pair ...

Harper has always been fond of animals - cats and dogs are her favorites. Although Grady is very good with Harper, his way of dealing with her is to avoid her as much as possible. He is very good at darting out of the room when she comes running towards him. Grady has the right to be nervous around Harper - she will occasionally pull his tail and, if she is able to catch him, she will lay on top of him to pin him down so she can love on him. We've been working with Harper on how to pet animals nicely - and it is helping. We even borrowed the book, Tails Are NOT for Pulling, from the library to reinforce what we were saying. She is improving but Grady still doesn't trust her.

Much to our surprise, Willie, the neighbor cat has become friends with Harper. Willie is an old tomcat. When we first moved to the neighborhood we were told he was old by the neighbors (his owners). Willie is outdoors probably 90% of the time. Grady and Willie had a brief bromance - they became fast friends and with Willie's street smarts and Grady's size, they quickly ruled the neighborhood. However, their friendship ended abruptly when Grady decided that he need to be in charge.... and consequently, Grady resumed to being an indoor only cat. Anyways, Harper and Willie became friends when Harper began watering Willie. She likes to fill up one of her outside cups and carry it over to the fence to leave for Willie. He appreciated her efforts and began to moew whenever he saw her and let her pet him through the fence. The friendship went to another level when Willie jumped (or shimmied through a hole) to play in the yard with Harper. He happily followed her around to the swing and watched her as she showed him the Barbie Car. After spending time together, Harper likes to walk Willie home.

Willie isn't my ideal friend for Harper (you know, with the lack of updated shots and the layer of dirt on his coat), but they do a wonderful job of hanging out in the yard together! Harper will even say that Willie is her cat sometimes. (Poor Grady!)