Cats Over Dogs

I like dogs and have had them, but the cats in my life, were the more interesting pets. And at last count, even though one at a time, my cats over the years, add up to more than a dozen. Only two ended their lives at the hands of a vet. The rest challenged cars on roadways and lost. A cat isn't exactly a pet because they do not allow themselves as dogs do, to be fully tamed. They will do their best to try being pettish or petty (?) but they never entirely slough off their wild nature. In fact, I have met and even had a cat or two that attacked me. A feral one in particular, did it during a camping outing and was cause for me to see a medical clinic for a rabies shot. The stray had lured me into patting it and then, thinking itself quite hilarious, showed me its true tiger-like nature by deciding my leg would make a good dinner.  Most cats in an effort to maintain an acceptable dignity in honor of their keepers, will deny themselves the natural expression of displaying their bad temperaments when stressed. They will growl, yes, cats can growl, and display their claws and spit, but usually they back off and run away with their ire. Once in a while, however, their wild natures, get the best of them and they bite and scratch before dashing off to hide their embarrassment at revealing their true volatile sides. Old cats are more peacefully inclined. They have come to realize that the best course of behavior around humans is to be pleasant and purr, so that they will be allowed upon a warm lap and be stroked. In their dotage, they forgo their real selves for the sake of practicality. Cats must be stroked the way they like stroking. One ought never to do it the wrong way or the feline will be forced to give you instruction in the matter. And it could result in a slightly bloody education. Cats like warmth and will seek it out in any possible manner. If there is a sunny ledge, they have the engineering ability to align their bodies to exactly conform to the patch of sunshine available. If there is a furnace or fireside or human body conveniently near, they will seek it out. They sleep a great deal but never completely. Their true selves are nocturnal. You can't sneak one over on a sleeping cat, and if you do, it's only with their private permission. If you try to discipline a cat, they will get even with you when you least expect it. Their laughter on these occasions is wisely withheld from your hearing range while other cats within miles, I suspect, will prick up their ears and privately enjoy the moment. Or so, I believe seeing the smugly victorious demeanor of a cat whose revenge had been thoroughly sated. I could swear on that occasion, she actually smiled, though subtly. I can give an example. The visiting Reverend lady who was in our parlour, holding our delicate bone china tea cup, told us upon seeing the Siamese cat Dara, enter the room, "Oh my, I am allergic to cats. Tee hee."  The Siamese who had been tossed outside earlier in the afternoon haven taken a stroll on newly painted door Husband had worked on, decided at that moment, in a need to avenge herself,  to leap upon the cocktail table and examine the little tea cakes laid out for the Reverend's call. Before anyone could stop her, the cat, the table, the cakes, and the Reverend's navy blue suit all met in an explosive situation when Husband entered the room and loudly cursed the animal. The visit was cut short, apologies notwithstanding. The Reverend  lady suggested, that from now on "May we take tea at the manse?" Ah yes, a cat is a cat is a cat.