The Cat Days of Summer
Phoebe is such a funny girl. She is also a pretty girl. Half Siamese and half Bermese, she is really striking and beautiful. Even the vet says so. (Do vets say that to all proud “parents”?) At any rate, sometimes even pretty girls are funny. As you might imagine with her lineage, she is also a talker. Talk, talk, talk. When I get home from work she always has much to say about her day. When I have been gone for two or three days she has much to say about that as well. However, when she is mad at me for leaving her alone for a couple of days, she indulges herself in fifteen or twenty minutes of “the silent treatment” before the talking starts. When she does deign to speak to me again, I’m sure her dialogue has more to do with scolding me than visiting about current events. But, I digress. What I wanted to rlate was Phoebe’s reaction to the heat wave we have been having. I don’t happen to have air conditioning. In the Pacific Northwest where I live it is not a standard feature because we rarely need it. However, this summer has brought record high temperatures and one very miserable cat. She is completely uncomfortable with the heat (fur coat and all) and, clearly, feels the fault is entirely mine. Drama queen that she is, she makes her feeling known in no uncertain terms, often lying flat on her back in front of me and looking beseechingly at me upside down. I wish I had been able to snap a picture of this particular behavior. It’s quite entertaining. Another tactic to let me know how unhappy she is with me because of the heat is to walk a few feet and then flop over on her side, as if she is unable to go another step. If I ignore her she will walk a few more steps and repeat this behavior. This goes on until I scratch her tummy and commiserate about the horrible hot weather.
People who love cats will understand how funny and dramatic they can be. My friends who are “dog people” just don’t get it. To them, cats are boring. They just seem to sleep most of the time and not “do” anything. It’s true they don’t jump around, lick you in the face and make big fools of themselves. However, I appreciate their subtlety and restraint. I enjoy the fact that Phoebe will scold me when I don’t live up to her high standard of care. No mindless loyalty for her. Even though it’s not true, she would have me believe that I could be replaced if I don’t straighten up! Actually, maybe it is true. Don’t all really beautiful girls know that they can probably find someone to take care of them in the manner to which they would like to become accostomed?
