Someone's going to get hurt

How many times do you remember rough-housing with siblings or friends and hearing your mother warning..."Be careful...someone's going to get hurt". Mothers always knew when enough was enough and we should settle down, but we didn't - we kept going until someone's head crashed into the floor or something got knocked over. Often someone ended up crying. Mother was right again.

Maya is fearless. Seems she doesn't know her size. Doesn't understand how vulnerable she is to all the bigger animals around her - including us, with our big feet that could crush her in a second.

Maya darts all over the house - ambushing us and popping out from places we don't expect her. Zoom - right between the feet. So far she has been lucky - we're paying attention to every step we make. But her day is coming, unless she changes her ways. The odds are not in her favor, she thinks she's invincible.

The most dangerous thing Maya does is bite on my computer cord. I have that thing tucked in as much as I can, and she still finds a piece to put in her mouth. It's a constant fight with her - as I push her away she thinks it's a game, and keeps coming back for more. I hope she gets bored with it soon - our other cats never paid that much attention to cords.

Another potentially dangerous game Maya plays is attacking the dog. Loco will be lying beside the couch, in his usual spot, minding his own business, and Maya will start crawling all over him. She bites on his feet, his ears, his legs. She nuzzles around his private parts (actually, I think Loco enjoys that part!). She darts up to his face and swats at him and then runs off, only to return over and over. Finally Loco has had enough and he retaliates. He gently chews on Maya, and she rolls around and grabs onto his whiskers, and goes for a ride as he moves his head from side to side. Maya is still smaller than Loco's head, but that doesn't stop her. She bites and grabs harder, and Loco starts with his feet - pushing Maya around, and then pinning her down. So far this is all good fun for both.

But at some point it starts to get serious. And I sit up and watch because I know that "Someone's going to get hurt", and that someone is going to be Maya. Finally Loco is too rough and Maya runs off, but Loco gives chase and pounces - all his weight and his big feet. If Maya is lucky she darts into a small hiding space, if not, she is crushed until I intervene and tell Loco to take it easy. But Loco loves to play, and this is great fun, and his adrenalin is going, and he is torn between listening to me and continuing his game with Maya. And Maya doesn't stop either, not until the one pounce that hurts, when she ends up crying and I punish Loco. The game is over, and see - Mother knows best, they should have listened when I tried to warn them.