It’s not often that Smokey and Loki calmly sit next to each other. Before Loki entered puberty, they were excellent friends. They snuggled, slept together, and generally got along wonderfully. However, during his change, Loki became a nuisance to Smokey, who reacted poorly. And, due to the Pandemic, we couldn’t get him neutered right away. So, we had quite the battle between the two for over a year. After getting him fixed in the Fall of 2021, he mellowed out, but Smokey wasn’t trusting or forgiving.

However, there appears to be a thawing of the tension as of late. Smokey and Loki can walk by each other without incident. They can sleep on the same bed, chair, or sofa without incident, though they have yet to resume snuggling. We have hope that we will all one day find them warmly and lovingly snuggling. But, for now, we will take whatever progress we can get.

And now, having written all this, they decided to resume mild hostility. Thankfully, not nearly as bad as in earlier days. There was little, if any, hissing. It presented more as play than an angry fight: no flying fur or loud thumps of bodies hitting the floor. Again, progress not perfection.