A dog is easy to read. Hello dog, how are you? A wag of the tail immediately tells me that he understands me and that he is eager to interact with me. With a cat, especially mine, it is quite a different story.
When I say, “hello cat, qué pasa? I am never sure of what the answer will be. She often pretends that she did not hear me, even when she can hear a fly yawn.
“Dogs come when they’re called; cats take a message and get back to you later.” Mary Bly
If she looks at me, or if she moves her ears, I know that she heard me, but it does not mean that she is willing to talk. A cat stare, by the way, can be intense, even scary. After many bites and painful scratches, I have learned to read the “look”. When she crouches and stares, watch out. She is like a coiled spring, ready to pounce. It is then better to avert her stare and retreat.
“The problem with cats is that they get the same exact look whether they see a moth or an ax murderer.” —Comedian Paula Poundstone
After a long cohabitation, I am starting to doubt that this furry beast is really a cat. She looks like a cat but does not behave like one. First, she does not like to be petted or fussed with, and regardless of the circumstances, she never purrs; isn’t this odd? Even suspicious?
She also has weird habits. During the day, she sleeps most of the time, but at night she likes to do some yoga exercises and practice short dashes in the bedroom.
She is a fastidious creature and insists on being let outside every day at daybreak (around 5:30 am). She will harass my wife or me until we let her out. When I say “harass”, I mean it. Or what would call the practice of repeatedly running at full speed over our sleepy bodies? To me, this is definitely harassment.
When I get up in the morning, she waits for me to get dressed, and if she thinks that it takes too long, she will meow to hurry me. When I am finally done, she will guide me down the stairs… and satisfied with her mission she will go back to her mysterious occupations.
To her credit though, she can be kindhearted too. When I had some back surgery a while ago and had to stay in bed for a few days, she never failed to jump on my bed and curl up close to me. I am pretty sure that her solicitude hastened my rehabilitation.
So, we have a kind of love-hate relationship. I love her and she (kind of) hates me. A typical romantic relationship, wouldn’t you say?
Alain
“In a fire, between a Rembrandt and a cat, I would save the cat. » Alberto Giacometti