I Was Going to Write about Cats Sooner or Later...

It would be nice to be in the company of a cat right now. Street dogs just aren't the same since I'm not supposed to touch them, and Blacky (the neighbor cat) is very moody and ignores me a lot. Sometimes just having a silent companion does wonders for my mentality. Cats are so unassuming and undemanding (well, unless it's DeeDee when she gets needy, but she's retarded, so that's different). They lay next to you and purr and make you feel loved (well, except Marie, who growls and slaps you if you move while she is laying on you).

I also like dogs, and since I've been in Chile I've grown to like them more. My host sister's boyfriend has a little dog named Twister who comes over a lot and makes really sad faces so that I'll give him table scraps. Facundo's dogs are really cute too, especially Juana, who lays on her back on my lap.

But dogs just aren't the same as cats. You have to earn a cat's love. And since cats are so moody, when they express happiness it is extra rewarding. Every time I go back to Kansas, each of my cats has her particular way of expressing excitement at my return. The first to appear is always Mokie, who rolls around on the floor and makes little chirps of delight. Then Carmela, who slinks into the room, tail twitching (she's a very twitchy cat), and waits for me to pick her up and carry her over my shoulder. I also have to make her do her trick: falling to the floor on command. Then comes Bessie, the neurotic one, who also throws herself to the floor and rolls like crazy. Then, later on after all the other cats have greeted me, she sits on my lap and neurotically plays with my pant strings. She also likes to carry highlighters around, sit on top of them, and meow obsessively (I really don't know why she does that). Then comes Baby, the deaf princess, who stands at a distance and stares at me without moving. She always stays at a distance, but if I leave the room she follows me wherever I go. Marie and DeeDee never come to greet me. Marie is always outside and DeeDee is too retarded. Poor thing.

I always think it's weird when people tell me they don't like cats. I guess they just don't have the patience to understand a cat. There are some unpleasant cats, but I think that's just because they were not brought up in a nurturing environment in which they could develop a personality. That may sound like bullshit, but I think every one of my cats has something special and interesting about them, and I can't imagine anyone not liking them. Except, of course, Marie, the psycho one who slaps you if you get too close to her face. But cat slaps don't really hurt.