Cleo, the disciplinarian

It all started with my husband coming into the room and accidentally stepping on Cow's paw.

He patted Cow to say "sorry", but Cow hissed and gave him a warning bite. Nothing serious. No tetanus jab required.

Then, Cow, infuriated (because he was stepped on, albeit accidentally), walked out of the room to the pantry.

Bunny tried to cross his path and that's when trouble began.

Cow almost attacked Bunny and guess who came to the rescue?

Yes, it was Cleo.

Cleo whined at Cow: "Stop this nonsense and bullying!"

Watch Cow's reactions...

The lowering of the ears.

Indy is ready to lend a hand, if need be.

The lowering of the head.

Cleo continues to scold.

Pole watches the whole thing from up above.

Indy thinks Cleo has everything under control already. He moves off.

The masked vigilante's help is not needed this round.

With his tail lowered, Cow moves away, defeated by his pint-sized niece.

Pole was monitoring (and probably also mentoring) the entire session from up above.

Brave girl, Cleo.

Bunny is safe...for now.

Tiger watched from the window sill.

Tabs watched from far away.

Tabbies don't stand a chance at such battles. They can only give moral support.

After an hour, Cow tried to lunge at Bunny again. So Bunny is still at risk today, until the wrath of Cow dissipates. And why? Just because his paw was accidentally stepped on.

Bunny will be under protective custody today. We don't want another trip to the vet's.

Lesson of the day: Do not pat an angry animal. He will not perceive the pat as an apology (as humans might), but as possible further aggravation to his body. Hence, he might attack. Anthropomorphising in this case...can lead to another tetanus jab!