When the food goes down

both of my Tom cats will happily fight to the death to keep the other Tom cat far away from THEIR food bowl. <The third, much smaller Tom sits back quietly in the shadows because he knows either one of the two bigger Toms can easily turn him into hamburger if he get them angry, so he just waits.> Initially a "super-soaker' water pistol filled with the coldest water practical was the best way of preventing torn ears and tufts of fur and blood all over the house.

Some measure of peace was finally achieved by putting one big Tom's personal food bowl up high on a sink counter with the other one across the room on the floor. Both cat's to my great annoyance marked the walls nearby as THEIR spot. I clean it, but the scent is still faintly there. When it gets really faint they will freshen it while I sleep or am away at work.

However after each has eaten 10 or 20 bites they will leave for a nap. This is when the little one comes out of hiding and scarfs for left overs. Since I intentionally put too much food in both bowls, all three are thusly well fed.

It is also very interesting to me that the rules regarding whose food bowl is whose fade away two hours after dinner. The small one has finished eating and commenced his nap. Then the two big ones wake up and check out the food bowl belonging to the other guy. Apparently under the terms of the Treaty they co-exist by, this is quite permissable as long as the cat owning that food bowl has already eaten from it that day.

After midnight before the morning feeding however the rule comes into play again and any cat trespassing in the other's territory will be attacked as soon as the bowl's owner notices him there.
This prevents a trespasser from stealing any goodies I may place in the bowl a little early.

Another interesting observation over the decades through several generations of cats and dogs living together has been the emergence of sanctuary zones recognized and honored by all members of both species found in my house. Hallowed Ground where no blood can be spilled. There is a small rug near the coffee table. Somehow 20 years ago this became a hallowed ground. Neither dog nor cat will further chase any animal that makes it to the rug. A High chair in the kitchen became Hallowed ground from an angry dog sometime in the 90s. Hallowed ground expands. Today all of the cats have extended it's protection to the area under the High chair and it is rare indeed for one to need to take the trouble to leap up onto the chair. Even the newest dog that arrived 8 years ago instantly recognized the sanctity of that spot and when chasing the cat that had intentionally urinated in the dog's drinking water, instantly stopped the charge when the cat reached the safety of being under the high chair.

There is a small safety zone in the far back of the area under the kitchen table, but it seems to be only about a foot in size as under other parts of the table fighting may occur, but not over there.

There is a safe spot in my bathtub, although this zone may be more akin to running into a house of horrors to escape a bully from a cat's perspective, rather than running into a police station. It works I think, not because the cat knows this is a safety zone, but rather instead because the chasing cat fears the prospect of a bath much more than anything else.