The strange ways of cats

  I have always loved dogs. I have a cat because the Wise Woman loves cats.

The cat and the Wise Woman have a warm and loving relationship, but the cat is cautious.

For example, the cat does not sleep next to the Wise Woman. I grew up in the Navy, sleeping on racks, bunks that are remarkably narrow. If you roll over in a Navy rack, you fall out. Among the joys of boot camp is hearing a shipmate’s scream in the middle of the night followed by the thud of a body hitting the deck. You learn, quickly, to sleep despite occasional screaming. You also learn to sleep without moving.

The Wise Woman was never in the Navy and rolls around in her sleep.

The cat sleeps next to me, keeping as far away from the Wise Woman as he can get.

The cat has discovered that it is best to summon me, rather the Wise Woman, when he gets hungry. He has discovered that the best way to rouse the manservant at 5:30 a.m. is by vigorous licking with his sandpaper tongue. He has discovered that even slugabeds will move if you lick near an eye. He has also discovered that it is not wise to rouse the Wise Woman in this way.

I do not know how it happened, but I have become the feeder of the cat and the cleaner of the litterbox.

I also don’t know how this happened: I could not bear to live in a house without a cat.