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Ghost of kitty past
Oct. 25th, 2009 12:29 pmThis morning I lay in bed contemplating how my cats position themselves when they want to cuddle with me. They are very different personalities. Calliope likes to mew and bury her nose into you - armpit, hand, leg, whatever. If she can't get a good angle, she'll walk around until she finds one. But never over me.
Dora, on the other hand, likes to walk all over me to get what she wants. She'll lay on my chest, or arm, but always wants to treat me as part of her path. When I sit on the couch, she will make a habit of jumping or walking over my lap several times until finding the spot she wants. She'll even step on my shoulder to jump down from the back of the couch when she's perfectly capable of doing so without me as a helping step ladder.
And it occurred to me - Faberge used to do something similar. It was always Faberge's "spot" to lay on my chest at night. And when she wanted attention (or to check out guests) she would walk over people's laps. With age came loss of mobility, and she would seek my assistance to get down from some places. I became her happy helping step ladder so that she might continue to enjoy a range of heights. But unlike Nymphadora, who takes walking all over me for granted, Faberge possessed a degree of "manners" in that she would in her own ask for permission whenever she stepped on my shoulder or needed a hand. She was a very smart and polite kitty.
This realization made me sad, but also a little touched. It's like Nymphadora has inherited some of Faberge's habits; but also, that she's marked as her own the "good spots" that once belonged to Fab in a bid for kitty territory with her former friend, but who Calliope never knew.
It's the sort of thing only a mother would notice. Am I right?
Dora, on the other hand, likes to walk all over me to get what she wants. She'll lay on my chest, or arm, but always wants to treat me as part of her path. When I sit on the couch, she will make a habit of jumping or walking over my lap several times until finding the spot she wants. She'll even step on my shoulder to jump down from the back of the couch when she's perfectly capable of doing so without me as a helping step ladder.
And it occurred to me - Faberge used to do something similar. It was always Faberge's "spot" to lay on my chest at night. And when she wanted attention (or to check out guests) she would walk over people's laps. With age came loss of mobility, and she would seek my assistance to get down from some places. I became her happy helping step ladder so that she might continue to enjoy a range of heights. But unlike Nymphadora, who takes walking all over me for granted, Faberge possessed a degree of "manners" in that she would in her own ask for permission whenever she stepped on my shoulder or needed a hand. She was a very smart and polite kitty.
This realization made me sad, but also a little touched. It's like Nymphadora has inherited some of Faberge's habits; but also, that she's marked as her own the "good spots" that once belonged to Fab in a bid for kitty territory with her former friend, but who Calliope never knew.
It's the sort of thing only a mother would notice. Am I right?
