How to talk to your cat

It amazes me sometimes how much I am used to the actions of my cat. One of her favorite things to do is to come along while I'm watching television and be next to me. She will crawl over the back of the sofa, down the arm of my recliner and place herself with her back legs on the arm of the recliner and her front legs on my right thigh. She purrs softly as I gently scratch behind her ears and under her chin (she likes that best). What makes this amazing is that I will look down and suddenly realize that she's there. It's as if to say, "Hello! When did you get here?" I know full well that she has been there for at least 15 minutes. It's a cozy feeling.

Last night, the most amazing thing happened. Nikita and I were watching television. Well... I was watching, she was lounging as usual. I was flipping between two or three programs, not fully engaged in any one, not wanting to leave any behind, and not ready to chuck the whole thing and go to bed. Finally, I landed on Animal Precinct just past the halfway point. It's usually at this point that they start arresting people and showing what has become of the animals they have left to unnatural selection.

One of the stories last night was about a cat that was found in a sewer and turned over to the ASPCA. As they were talking with the new owner, I commented to Niki that this cat could be related to her. He looked like a short-haired version of my cat. As I looked down at Niki, I noticed that she, too, was taking notice of this cat on television. She was actually watching TV!!

Don't get me wrong, I've seen videotape of animals watching television but my critters couldn't care less about what's on the noisy box that lights up. Once the segment was over, she went back to her disinterest. It was almost like, "Hey! I know that guy!"