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Sophie likes to hang out "under cover" when I'm up and moving around.....just in case I decide to grab her and do terrible things to her. I believe she knows better, but can't help herself. Kitty post-traumatic stress disorder.Occasionally I think about how Sophie would feel in my arms. She wouldn't be smooth and solid like Issey, and she wouldn't be heavy and lumpy like Rudy. Fluffy like Santino perhaps, but heavier, but would her hair be silky? It's impossible to tell how much kitty is underneath the hair.I may actually KNOW. Sophie sidled up to me until she was pressed flat against my body. I slowly reached out and touched her lightly. She purred, and I dared a couple of strokes. She was smaller that Rudy, larger than Santino, and her hair was coarse. She smelled wonderful. And then I woke up. I was smiling. :-)
This morning I came into the kitchen followed by Issey singing at the top of his voice. "Ah, are we practicing our beautiful voice this morning?" I asked as I put fresh crunchies into the kitty dishes. I petted him over and over and over, but he did not stop "singing".Santino came in and joined in. The duet was not as pleasurable....or, maybe I, still without my coffee, was simply getting irritated. And, then I got it! They were insisting on wet food! I have been putting down a dish of wet food when toothless Rudy gets up. This morning, Issey spearheaded the change. No waiting on Rudy. (Sure enough, Rudy appeared when I was opening the can.)I think the test of a cat's intelligence is how well he can train Mom to serve him amicably, quickly, and completely to his satisfaction. 
Rudy trained me to give him water the way HE wanted a drink years ago. It didn't take long before I came to dislike what I had previously considered cute. I solved the issue by buying a cat fountain and thereafter playing dumb when he would ask me to turn on the faucet. But, I wasn't vigilant enough. The Red Prince wins. I have been showering him with loving attention since I came back from California, found him in pain, and most especially after his dental surgery. My return to servitude to his highness came about so naturally that I was not aware of it until I saw this photo I had taken!
Only a couple of days ago I was telling a friend how extraordinarily smart my cats are, especially Issey whose bloodlines, I was certain, should have been passed on, and, perhaps, a terrible injustice, if not crime, had been committed by having had him neutered.I still remember how my children never failed to prove me wrong after I had bragged on them! I am also aware of how I have been punished by the Universe when I have bragged about myself! Apparently, things work the same way with fur kids.Today I came home in a rental car. I entered the house through the garage and cried out "Hi, kids!" the way I always do. Rudy backed off a few feet, but Issey and Santino bolted in the opposite direction. Even when I opened their food cans, I had to coax them out. Did I smell like the tow truck in which I had ridden?.....picked up bad juju from the body shop or the rental car place? No......They didn't recognize the car and weren't about to be tricked by some stranger pretending to be ME!And, of course, we all know how smart I am attempting to figure out what cats think!
My two Balinese say "Oh, wow, wow, wow!" very clearly when I give them chicken. Oh...not just any kind of chicken, of course! Here is the recipe:1 oven cooking bag (which you will put in a bakng dish1 whole Organic baking chicken...4#- 5#1 large beet, cut in halvescoarse salt, black pepper, and Herb Provance mixed spicesRemove all the icky parts...giblets, fat...and throw awayRinse chicken under cold water and dry with paper towelsPlace in cooking bagRub liberally with all the spicesAdd the washed beet halvesClose bag and bake at 400 degrees.....Wait an hour and a half and it's done!The cats will be going crazy from the aroma! See if you can get them to do any work before dinner.....while the chicken cools. (I have not yet succeeded with this. ) The beet and your favorite parts of the chicken are for you.....The rest is for the cats.
Wait until cool enough, but still warm.....Hand down only one piece to each and you will hear a very clearly said "Oh wow, wow, wow!" It may, of course, be only a Balinese trait!
This is Rudy's "The Look". It works! I put a portion of wet food in his own dish and deliver it to him on his high perch where he can eat it in peace.My FaceBook friends did not see "The Look" at all in the same way! Does he really not look depressed?
This black chair in my studio is always occupied and I happily give up the chair if this will keep them traipsing through the stuff on my work table. Issey has a bead fetish. He wants them ALL. He has learned that he is not to touch the strings of beads, so he sneaks them. He's got them off the table and on the floor by the time I notice. And, I know how spoiled he is when I catch myself thinking "Oh, he is SO cute!"
Sometimes changes in cats (and people, too, I think) are so subtle that one can't be certain......But, now I know that Santino was upset about Miki. He is now back to the Santino of old. He is the most affectionate kitty I have ever had. And...lucky me...He loves to be held. He is the only one who does. I hold him with one hand, snuggled to my chest, while I stroke him with my other hand. Bliss! He also lays himself over my shoulder like a baby. More bliss! And, then there are the head butts and nose kisses! I am very lucky.
Sophie has lost a bit of weight, although it doesn't show in this pose. Come to think of it, maybe it's only her winter coat she has lost.
The best sculptor couldn't do any better!Rudy is coming along, but he is not the same kitty. The changes are subtle. Perhaps, it's too soon after his surgery....yes, only the 4 incisors are left.....to have his joy back.
