We have two cats the same age, not related in any way, they just happened to be in the cat shelter at the same time when we were in the market for cats. Kuro is one of the smartest cats we have ever owned. Boog is one of the dumbest.
Boog is not unaware of the discrepancy in their intelligence levels (so I guess he could be dumber), and he has spent the last twelve years looking to his brother for cues to what he should do and when. This has backfired somewhat now that Kuro has had jaw surgery and is being fed liquid through a tube.
For the first few days, Kuro felt ill and didn't want to eat, so Boog ate alone and that was okay. Now Kuro is well enough to feel hungry again, he comes running whenever we yell about cat food, because he's had twelve years of programming to respond to that call. And then when he arrives, he sniffs at the food and remembers that his mouth hurts and that eating food would be a really bad idea.
Meanwhile, what Boog sees is his super smart brother taking one look at the food and backing away. At which point Boog decides that the food must be poisoned or something, because obviously his brother knows best. So now not only do we have to feed Kuro liquid through a tube five times a day, I also have to hand feed Boog his biscuits one by one in order to convince him that they're not Deeply Suspicious And Best Avoided.
We chose cats over kids because they're easier to deal with. Mostly. Except when they're not.
Kuro and Boog.
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