The Tale of Sir Kodos

A couple days ago I used one of the Cooperative Auto Network cars to do a bunch of stuff. This included taking the “boom box” I bought off Craigslist from my workplace to my studio (anyone have any old timey cassettes they want to unload, bring it on – the radio sucks), taking the original masters of Great Old Ones (that our old engineer Terry Podealuk brought to my workplace because he was moving) home, and the transfer of Kodos (my cat, for the uninitiated) from Kitsilano to East Van.

Many of you know that Kodos had a hard time adjusting to life in Kits. He hates frat boys and yuppies so his reaction was to strike out at anyone around him. He got in fights with Max the other cat, with Mike’s leg, and was generally belligerent for the first couple of months. He cooled off slowly over time, but I would inevitably hear tales of certain piquant interactions from the roommates when I got home from work or whathaveyou. This has always been a concern but the simple fact of the matter was that between work, my studio, band stuff in Chilliwack, and of course Deanna, there was just no way to get in the requisite amount of quality time with my canine dependent.

My studio, my workplace and Deanna’s are all within a 15 block radius. On the other hand, the distance between Deanna’s place and home in Kits is about 45-50 blocks. The solution that Deanna suggested and which I took was to move Kodos into her basement suite. That way the 3am bike trips home to make sure Kodos didn’t starve to death could be avoided, and I wouldn’t have to rely on the generosity of my roommates to take care of someone else’s curmudgeonly pet.

Interestingly, Kodos is reacting slightly better towards this move than the last one, even though there is a dog in the house! Maybe cats are naturally more pissy towards their own kind, despite everything I’ve been taught by cartoons. Maybe Kodos feels more comfortable with less footsteps surrounding him. Who knows. The hidey hole we set up for him in the bathroom is ignored, as he favours the spot behind the couch, but he comes out often and doesn’t hiss at Lunch the dog until she’s well within 4-5 feet. We often get to watch an exercise in cat recall as Kodos will walk around the living room, bump into Lunch, get all growly, sulk off, then get curious about what the humans are doing and repeat the entire process.

Deanna is convinced that in short order they’ll be best friends. I’m waiting for the bloodbath. Either way there’s now a better chance I’ll be around to watch my little Kodos grow up.