In a way I wish it was Tufty she's cottoned on to, but it's Theo.
He's traditionally the boss in this house but of late his leadership has been severely challenged by Sly da sly, who has been on steroids recently so currently his bullying is around 1000% its usual levels.
Polly seems to have got a grip on the politics here and by pairing up with Theo she's also taken a lot of the argument out of the younger boys (Tuffs and Sly). Theo now sleeps and eats in the house (he's beeen a garden cat for a couple of years) and is friendly and loving towards us too
The knock on effect is that Sly is effectively outnumbered, so is stepping back rather than forward when Polly is present. Therefore Tufty gets an easier ride, too
She's tiny but by God she's effective! A master stroke if I say so meself