My black cat Neil is 13 years old now. When he was young, he used to defend his territory (my back yard patio) with a vengeance; I had to take him to the 24 hour animal hospital twice to get wounds cleaned after fights. Now, however, he is more tentative, and will meow at the window when an intruder is present. Several times I have then gone out and chased it away. I thought that was going to happen the other day when I saw him meowing and pacing, but Neil surprised me by running out the door when I opened it. A cat I call Black Cat With White Feet (BCWWF) was present, and he jumped up on the fence, but fell back to the ground. The two tussled, then Neil ran back inside the house. BCWWF climbed the fence again, I shouted “Go!” and he left. I went back inside to make sure Neil was not hurt. There was a lot of dust and dirt on his fur, but he was OK. Neil is such an object lesson for me. He didn’t need to fight that battle at all. He risked injury without needing to. Fortunately, everything turned out OK. I gave Neil treats and told him he was a good boy. I was proud of his courage, but there was no need for him to fight that battle because I would have gladly fought it for him.
