March 21, 2008

Demanding Equal Time

Mr. Bobo the Wonder Cat had been an only child for 8 years when we brought home a noisy, hyperkinetic farting machine known as Corky the French Bulldog.

Let's try to imagine what that must have felt like. Say you're a quiet person who likes to sit by the front window and listen to the birds. Then, overnight, your peaceful lifestyle is shattered by an intruder who chases you, steals your toys, and takes over your favorite perch by the window. It might make you a bit cranky, no?

Mr. Bobo has had to learn new survival tactics, not easy in mid-life. When he needs to use the litter box, he waits until Corky is napping and then sneaks into the bathroom, hugging the walls and tiptoeing as only kitties can do. If Corky wakes up, Mr. Bobo goes into Ninja Mode, attacking and circling, holding her at bay until he can dash into the bathroom. When he has made his deposit, he makes a hasty exit. It is up to me to keep the nuggets from being dug up by a dog who has a penchant for cat poop.

Corky is a demanding child who cries when she doesn't get enough attention. If she needs some mothering, she'll jump up on my lap and lick my ears.

Mr. Bobo, on the other hand, will place himself strategically so as to be accessible for petting. He will roll on his back, exposing his floofy belly and blink at me, silently expressing an invitation to scratch if I so desire. His way is to be subtle and unobtrusive.

Until now.

For the last two months, Mr. Bobo the Wonder Cat has perched himself between my keyboard and my monitor, a position he abandons only when he hears the treat jar rattling.

He doesn't wait for me to have the urge to pet him; he reaches out and puts his paw on me.

I should have recognized his plea for more affection when I opened my Christmas present from him. It was a subscription to the magazine "I Love Cats."

I know I shouldn't say anything bad about a gift, but I'm sure that if Mr. Bobo could read, he wouldn't have wasted his money on this publication. It's a little bit, shall we say…cheesy. One of its regular features is a photo essay called "Cats in the News." The photos are snapshots bearing captions such as "Jasphurr, a longhair, takes a cat nap" and "Sam loves blue velvet." One photo this month is a posthumous tribute to an orange tabby named "O.C." who (I'm not kidding) "passed over the rainbow bridge in January 2007."

Corniness is probably the norm for magazines aimed at people who love kitties (we have been known to use baby-talk, after all) and this magazine is a prime example. There is a regular column written BY a cat, the monthly column from the editor is called "Paws for Thought," and the ads all seems to be for "purr-fect" products.

Still, I appreciate the thought. I may even send in a photo of my own kitty, with the caption, "Mr. Bobo hates French Bulldogs."

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