charm school for cats


annie
 is adjusting to living here
 she seems to want to play
 be part of the boys club 

her idea
 of
 engaging
 jack 
who she feels most comfortable around
 is 
to run at him full speed
 stop short 
turn
 run away

 she's
 the
 cat version
 of
 seinfeld's kramer

 seriously

 the hissing has stopped
 the growling
 is 
now mostly
 her
 when harry 
who is the world's biggest mush
 comes
 too close

 yesterday
 (really this morning as i write this)
 jack
 did a sort of pele move 
with
 this little ball
sending it down the hall 
aiming it at annie
 who was
 sitting
 watching

 she 
sort of
 tapped it 
with her paw
 it barely moved 

 jack
 turned
 walked away
 decided
 the window was more welcoming

 then she disappeared
 she's so small 
she can get herself
 into
 spaces
 places 
the boys can't

  she often hides
 under
 the armchair
 it has a skirt 

what she doesn't 'get' 
is
 when either of the boys hides under there
 a game is afoot

 whoever isn't under the skirt
 tries to get the other
 to come out
 by
 sticking a paw or nose out
 or 
under the skirt

 i dont know
 what material 
the chair has covering it 
but
 it has stood up to these antics 
for a few years
 with little to show 
how its mistreated
 (lauren if you're reading this thank you again for the chair/ottoman its much loved much used) 

anyway
 all this
 got me thinking

 dogs
 go to obedience school
 they learn to socialize

 why isn't there something
 for
 cats

 i know
 you are laughing
 so
 hard
 right now
 obedience for cats
 hardee har har 

okay
 not obedience school
 maybe
 charm school

 we're convinced
 annie 
never spent time in a shelter
 she must have been an only cat 
in her previous life

 clearly not a loving life 
you may recall
she was tossed from a moving car 
in a carrier
likely
 that 
was
 the only reason
 she survived
 how lucky
 she was to be found by our vet
 how lucky 
she is to be a part of our lives 

i know
 we feel lucky
 most of the time 
not so much
 the times 
she refuses to use
 the scratching post or pad 
in place
 of 
the records on the shelf 
 the back of the armchair
 the duvet cover on our bed 



its hard to stay angry with a face like that