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This is the sweet faced feline, Sister; actually the Ninja Cat.

After Sister came into my life, she seemed to be afraid of everything: a knock on the door, a sudden move by me while she was is in my lap. Hearing my footsteps behind her sent her running off without looking back. She was a very timid, one person cat

Part of her Ninja mode may have evolved from her timidity and fearfulness. She made plans in case of any dire emergency. She discovered several safe hiding places, in case of “enemies” or Norie, my black cat came after her.

Thinking of her as a timid cat, I decided she didn’t understand much about how things work and saw sudden invasions into her quiet world as a threat. So I looked at her with the “Bless her heart” attitude that she was very sweet but wasn’t as smart as Norie, the “Wonder Cat.”

Norie used to watch my activities with great curiosity, explore everything brought into the house and connected with her environment. All Sister seemed to want was to hide, lay in my lap, or in the sun and sleep. Boy did she have me fooled!

But my thinking on Sister changed several years after I adopted her. I know from personal experience that fear can cause your mind to focus on nothing but survival. If she was truly as afraid as I thought she was, she was very creative in secreting herself in very good hiding places!

I offered no threat to her. I loved her and never abused her. I am not a noisy person at home. I do rush around sometimes trying to get things done on time but I lead a peaceful life. Sister seemed to fit right in except for her relationship with Norie.

Norie was mischievous and naughty to Sister sometimes. She even hid and jumped out to scare Sister, which sent her scurrying off in a hurry. But later I saw Sister stalking Norie, and I began to notice some other interesting behaviors that lead me to believe Sister was a lot smarter than I gave her credit for.

Sister is part Ninja! She loves to hide and not just under things with her tail showing like Norie does. When sister hides, she sometimes uses camouflage!! Here are a few examples of her mysterious powers!

One of the many times I looked for Sister, I found her behind the wooden shoe rack in my closet. She moved some shoes aside and hopped right in. It took me a little while to find her.

Sister was quite comfy on a guest bathroom shelf in her own little box. Although this was not the best hiding place, she could pull down into the box and I didn’t notice her as I walked down the hallway looking for her. Looked kind of smug, didn’t she?

This was the time Sister actually used camouflage. I knew she would often nest on the bottom shelf in the master bathroom; so when I began my search for her, the bottom shelf was the first place I looked. I swear I didn’t see her!! I even checked that bottom shelf twice! She  must have been very proud of herself, sitting right in front of me, looking at me and knowing that I didn’t see her! She outsmarted me!

There were several times that she hid under the futon in the guest room too. I tried to keep the door to the guest room closed because she loved to hide in there and I once even accidentally closed the door with her in the room and did not know it!

Another convenient location in my bedroom for Sister to hide was behind the recliner in the corner of my bedroom. Convenient for her but not an easy spot for me to reach her!!!

Tired of the box seen in previous picture, Sister demonstrated her amazing jumping skills by jumping from the toilet tank to the second shelf or did she climb from the bottom shelf with her claws?

Last of all was the area under my bed. I found that Sister loved to hide under my bed. So I got smart and placed boxes, clothing bags, and anything else that would fit under the bed’s edge to prevent her from getting under it. Well, if I moved one of those items and forgot to put something back, Sister slipped in unnoticed under the bed as soon as I left the room. She saw any weakness in my barrier!!

I decided I had best be more observant and less presumptuous about Sister’s personality and intelligence. You know the old saying, “Quiet waters run deep.” It’s a good thing she is such a sweet kitty, or she could be dangerous!