What is Cuter!

What's cuter than a sassy ragdoll kitty rolling around on the carpet or chasing a bottle cap down the hall, her fluffy pantaloons flouncing along like feathers on a turkey's butt? Our little Simba is so cute she gets away with way too much mischief. One of her tricks is to beg to go out into the garage, but once we've opened the door all she does is turn around and wait. She used to scamper down the steps and explore at her leisure.

But now Simba will wait at the door until one of us grabs her favorite feather toy and tries to coax her back into the house. It used to be easy: just wiggle the red and yellow feathers attached to a long stick and she was in, shut the door and be done with it. But, not now, oh no, it could never be that simple. Now she expects us to get creative - real creative. Sometimes we bounce the feathers around the room as though they were hopping birds teasing her, other times we skitter them along the floor, a snake scurrying off into the weeds. Sometimes she'll accept the ploy and bound into the house, attacking the intruders with vengeance. Other times she sits there looking at us with her pale, blue eyes expecting much, much more from us.

When I can't come up with anything more for her and the feathers, I give up and toss them down the hall. Depending on her mood she may or may not rush after them. I sit down, exhausted, and wonder how in the world can a cat control my behavior so well. We have so much to learn from animals. Sigh.