September 2009

Bessie is full grown now and can hold her own against the two seniors - but it hardly matters. Cinnamon only wants to drink from the bathroom tap and to be left alone, but Bessie still likes to give him a good chase. "Crap," he must be thinking,
"What's with you? Give me a break already!"
Ginger, on the other hand, has a different attitude. As First Cat, she wants not so much to be left alone as to be accorded her rightful due as queen. This means deference, a trait with which Bessie is not endowed. So Ginger will be stretched out asleep on the window sill, serenely enjoying her sunbathing, and Bessie will stretch up and swat her tail. This does not gain Ginger's favor. Ginger will then stare Bessie down, accompanied when necessary with a deep, alto purr-growl and Bessie will avert her gaze, acknowledging Ginger's supremacy. Except. Ginger will then resume her nap and Bessie will resume the provocation.
In Bessie's defense, it must be noted that she is only two years old and still wants to play. In fact, it is quite obvious that Bessie finds the confines of our house terribly claustrophobic and runs from window to window to follow a squirrel who may be zigzagging through our back yard. "If only," she seems to be thinking. Ah, if only. Domestication is a cruel compromise.