Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice...I mean, Edith, Emma, Marlo and Harry

So D and I went to a vegan shoe shop tonight. He'd been wanting to visit them for a while. Ironically, I ended up liking it better than he did...but not for the shoes. For the cats. There were four of them!

Edith. She was the first one I patted. She was gray and soft and sprawled on the counter next to the cash register. I patted her and started saying, "Good Edith, good cat," and her tail wagged back and forth like Rainer's does. Then she opened her mouth and made a mewing sound...twice. I don't know cats well enough to know if it was a mew of pleasure or discomfort, so I went away. I might pat her in the future, though.

Emma. Emma was nestled in a cubbyhole. She came out eventually and stared at me in a slightly unfocused way. I guess she wasn't sure what to make of me. She had pretty eyes and nice posture, though.

Marlo. Marlo was my favorite. (Initially, I thought he was probably a girl, like Marlo Thomas. But later the employee referred to Marlo and Harry as "boys".) When Marlo saw me, his eyes lit up like Rainer's do and he came right over, arching his back so I could pat him and practically throwing his head back, he was enjoying it so much. But then...

Harry. Harry was a fun, feisty-looking cat with a big puffy coat of fur. Harry's demeanor said, "Don't even think about it." So I didn't. But when I was patting Marlo, Harry got mad, came over and took a swipe at Marlo with his paw! They got in a little scuffle and the employees separated them. Employee #1 tried to pat him then, and he swiped at her! Employee #2 said, "He wants a piece of you," and Employee #1 said, "He wants a piece of something." I like that Harry is slightly psychotic, but I will definitely give him his own space.

Comments

Anonymous said…
At my vet's office (it's a cat-only place), there are a few cats that just roam around. One of them will come up and act like she wants attention, but she'll bite or scratch if you try. It's always best to let the cat decide how the relationship is going to be.
9:46 AM
Bearette said…
I think so! It's funny how they choose you (or not). I worked with a woman a long time ago who told me a cat adopted her. I never fully understood that until I met Rainer, having grown up with dogs.
11:22 AM
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