Glenda and Gary’s fearless, 100-pound male, Akita’s name in Japanese is Senshi Takao meaning ‘wise warrior’ but it might be a tad off. Akitas are known for their high-prey drive and cats rightly fear them. The couple’s house cat, Gizmo, is wary as the dog has given chase to him several times.
When the family paw-chased their Cottage Grove home it came with an abandoned starving Calico cat. The cat was left without food or water for five months. So, the survivor had two missions, one for the newbies to feed her, and the other seemingly impossible task of making the fuzzy warrior her next-best friend!
“I immediately placed food outside for the cat,” said Glenda. “She ate it, but was so skittish she wouldn’t let anyone near her. She named herself. When I’d call her she’d meow, and it sounded like, ‘Mar-lee’. None of us could get close to her. It took months before she’d let me gently touch her back, then she’d turn and flee.”
Over the weeks, Marlee would study Takao. He’d ignore her whilst lumbering alongside his parents down the driveway on ‘their’ walk. One day, Marlee walked up behind Takao, closely monitoring his body language. At first, she walked a safe 10 feet behind him, then gradually shortened the distance to 8 feet, 6 feet and after three months she insanely walked directly up to Takao and rubbed her body against his side.
The family held their breath. What would their warrior do?
“He calmly bent his huge muzzle down and sniffed her tail. The cat innocently rubbed up against him,” said Glenda. “She had worked her way into our family with Takao’s acceptance. Some days she is at our front door meowing at ‘walking time’ for us and her buddy to hurry and join her.
Marlee then rushes up to Takao and rubs his legs and walks under his furry belly. He doesn’t’ make sudden moves that might scare her. He enjoys her company. My husband thinks the cat is crazy, but I tell him she is lonely.”
If the threesome heads down their driveway and Marlee isn’t in sight, they soon hear meowing invisibly from the tall-meadow grass indicating she is coming and to wait for her. The grass moves in waves as she runs to join them insisting, ‘Please wait’.
Takao, known in the past for chasing cats, now enjoys his daily walks with his newfound friend.
“A cat that was abandoned to starve on 15 acres and a cat chasing dog the size of a bear unbelievably become best friends,” said Glenda. “It is amazing how the cat was willing to risk its life for an enduring friendship.
Marlee is now introducing herself to our Akita puppy, Suki. Our brave feline warrior was following Suki from a distance of 20 feet and has shortened it to six feet. Friendship is her motivation.”
