In Praise of Shreve Stockton’s Eli

Much praise is being directed to Shreve Stockton for her new book about raising a young orphaned coyote. The tributes to her are much deserved and Charlie, the coyote, is a fascinating character. However, I would like to focus a bit on Eli, the cat, and his role in this process.

Eli is Shreve’s cat and Eli is brave.

It must have been horrifying for Eli to find that his space was violated when Shreve allowed a coyote pup into the home. It must have been frightening. The scent of a coyote, even a pup, must have triggered all manner of survival instincts in Eli. Nevertheless, this invader of his space was not going away. So Eli coped.

His contribution to the process of raising Charlie cannot be underestimated. Charlie was orphaned at ten days and Shreve Stockton undertook the task of raising the young coyote pup. The problem was that Shreve was ill equipped to the task. This is not a criticism of Ms Stockton. All humans are at a deficit. We humans simply do not ’speak the language’.

Having lost his mother and litter mates, Charlie was not able to learn some valuable social lessons. In the early days of Charlie’s life, he would have been taught things such as bite suppression and pack dominance from his litter mates and his mother. When he was orphaned, it is unlikely that any human, try as they might, would have been able to impart the necessary lessons to Charlie. Somehow, Eli overcame his natural fear and interacted with Charlie. And through that interaction, Charlie was taught some critical lessons.

Animals are adept at body language. It is debatable how much this translates between species. There is no doubt, however, that a cool turn of the head or a quick swat of a cat paw from Eli was instructive beyond measure. We humans rely on verbal language. Eli communicates in postures and through behaviour - and Charlie has learned, understands and remembers.

As Charlie has grown and now is bigger than Eli, some people may be concerned for Eli safety. The likelihood of Charlie hurting Eli intentionally is remote - perhaps to the point of almost impossible. Regardless of size, Eli is dominant. It is not a matter of strength. It is a matter of attitude. And, like a smart cat, Eli will deliver the message that he is the one who must be pleased. Eli will communicate to Charlie, on a consistent daily basis, that he is superior. Eli will convey that message to Charlie through his every behavior.

Cat owners know that they never really “own” a cat. They live with a cat. - A concern about the Eli / Charlie dynamic might have been if there was a wide age difference and Eli was much older. There might have been leadership issues as Eli aged but their ages are close enough so that it is not an issue. Charlie is attached to Eli and it is one of the interesting and instructive sub-plots that runs through Shreve Stockton’s book. Ms Stockton had the good fortune to have had a very smart and bold cat. Sometimes Fate gives a wonderful assist. Ms Stockton’s compelling first book about Charlie might have been quite different without lessons from Eli.

Catherine Forsythe

Recommended Buy: Shreve Stockton’s Book about Charlie (The Daily Coyote)

link: The Daily Coyote