Time for the next installment: You remember I left off with "How wrong could I be?"
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Chapter II
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Lady BLOSSOMED. For the first time in her life she wasn't being supervised; she was now TOP CAT! There was no Peter Principle involved; she was just getting started.
She answered all questions, who, what, when, where, why, and how. I was amazed at her ability to communicate as she took over the household.
First of all, Who? That was me; she accepted service and petting from my son (KP), but she owned me.
What? Started with discussions about food. She gave it as her opinion that certain foods should not be offered her, and that others she would welcome in repetition. Also, she needed a personal doorman, into and out of the courtyard of our apartment.
When? This was the one that gave me the most trouble. It wasn't difficult to accomodate her meal times, nap times, lap times, out times. It was bedtime that upset the harmony of our days. She felt that when SHE wanted to retire, I should go to bed so that she could snuggle in her chosen place beside me for the night. She was an early bird and I was a night owl! The gyrations she went through to persuade me to stop whatever I was doing and go to bed were astounding--I think the funniest was her reaction to my computer. She plonked herself down on my desk, facing the screen, in a perfect position to lash me across the face with her tail. I could, of course, have picked her up and thrown her across the room, but I didn't; I respected her too much. If I didn't give in to her lashing, I just moved her aside and kept on typing. Sooner or later she'd get what she wanted.
Where? That meant she had first dibs on any choice spota in the house she wanted for herself; no more plants on windowsills that she wished to occupy.
Why? Because she could!
And last, How? This, I think, applies to how she wished to be petted, and it was my son she taught first. He finally noticed that the more vigorously he petted her, the more vigorously she demanded more petting. So he started really rough petting, scrubbing her from head to tail, and what she did was to climb to the top of an overstuffed chair, dig in with all eighteen claws, and ask for more.
I would never have believed this if I hadn't seen it, but I have since discovered other cats like this as well. Oh dear! Gentle stroking is all most cats can elicit from their people; they just don't have the communication skills of Lady!
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Tomorrow we discuss intellectual skills. Until then, Hasta manana. KPMom.
