Oh, man. There was an interloper cat outside that Taz and Marley saw and got their hackles up about- yowling and puffy tails and hissing. Then when Interloper Cat left, Marley was still upset- breathing heavily in a pre-hissing fashion. Taz approached him, it seemed like in a neutral or comforting way, and Marley full out attacked Taz. We separated them and after a while now it seems like they are OK but it was freaky and upsetting- Marley was very upset and aggressive.

Displaced aggression, Nora. Now that you know he reacts that way you can be ready to deflect it. TC goes after us if we approach him too soon after he's gotten hysterical over seeing another cat on *his* deck. We know to wait till he's started to calm on his own. He'll usually come to me seeking reassurance, but I have to observe and make sure he's anxious and submissive rather than still het up before I touch him. Once I do, he usually deflates right away.

You should be able to swoop Taz up and out of range and give Marley a chance to calm down a little. Talk reassuringly, but don't approach until he comes to you. You can tell by his body language if he needs reassurance or he's looking for someone to swat to get rid of the adrenaline.

It looks and sounds a lot worse than it is. As long as you're aware that's how he reacts, it's not that upsetting to deal with.

Hivemind fashion question- sparkly sandals with a heel, and something between the toes - evening sandals or just a really nice flip flop?

eta: something like this [link]

Vortex, the heel makes them appropriate for the evening imho.

Thanks, Beverly. It seems like the factor that made a difference this time around is that the slider was open, so it was just the screen between the Interloper and our cats. I think the scent antagonized him more than usual.

I agree with sj -- those shoes look like summer evening shoes to me.

New discovery: Tofutti cream cheese on toast is kind of ick. Edible, but it tastes weird. Tofutti cream cheese on rye bread with cucumber, on the other hand, is yum.

Jewish people living in the Dakotas in the late 1800s

Sol Star!

Yes, apparently I am helpless before the possibility of a Deadwood reference.

In other news, we bought a car today, which at least made short work of the icky shopping for cars part of the process. The driving around (ZOOM!) in a much better faster smoother car with the iPod plugged into it part is much more fun than shopping for something omgheartattackexpensive.

Yay zoom!

Hey, Erin! It's good to see you. Congrats on finding a nice internet geek to have for a boyfriend. I highly recommend them.

Congrats on the new car, Amych!

Vortex, those shoes are gonna be Teh Hawt on you!

Things that are annoying - when my mother says 'we'll do whatever you want to do". So I say "okay, let's do X", and she replies "no, we have to do Y". And when I say something to the effect that X will be easier, then she starts crying.