joyful2beeblogs

I am very thankful for the companionship of my cat, Norie. This black cat is one of the delightful parts of my life. She is a source of laughter, company, amazement, challenge, and life lessons.

Norie trusts me implicitly. She knows I would not hurt her on purpose. I have stepped on her paws or tail many times when she sat on the floor behind me when I didn’t see her. (Black cats can be very stealthy and are not always seen easily.) She has never been reclusive or attacked me in anger for it. I always apologize and make a big fuss over her because I never want to hurt her and I want her to know that.

I have carried heavy things and walked over her multiple times in the past. She never moves because she trusts me. (Or she just doesn’t want to move?) Most cats run away when they see someone coming towards them carrying something big and bulky like a load of clean clothes.

I usually don’t ask her to move unless she is truly in the way. After all she is usually there first, even if it is my home! (Well she may have some delusions of ownership, as you can imagine.) LOL.

I trained her to move away from the front of the refrigerator door when I say, “Beep, beep.” Usually she moves because she sees that I can’t get to her refrigerated food. But I have used “Beep Beep” in other situations to get her to move and she usually gets up or moves.

Once when I was using a walker after foot surgery she was blocking the bedroom doorway by lying on her side, spread out in both directions. I approached with the walker and said, “Beep Beep.” She just laid there and watched me as I walked towards her. I said it more emphatically. She still didn’t move! I think she was a little confused because usually I can just roll over her if she is not obstructing the wheels. So I nudged her with my foot and she moved.

The next morning the same thing happened again. She was lying on her side in the doorway with front and back legs on one side and her tail extending on the opposite side of her body. She watched as I came towards her with the walker. I said, “Beep Beep” and waited.

There she lay. I repeated the magic words and she pulled her front legs in close to her body and looked at me as if to say, “Go ahead.” But her hind legs were still in the way on that side and her tail was still in the way on the other side of her body. So I repeated the words again. She pulled in her back legs and tail pulled up into “kitty loaf” position so I could pass over her.

I started laughing for several reasons. She was being lazy, sassy, trusting, “and very clever” all at the same time. I continued to laugh as I walked into the kitchen realizing the intelligence and trust she has, that I wouldn’t hurt her on purpose.

The other way she makes me laugh is joining me in my nightly exercises on the yoga mat. She loves to hear me flip the rolled up mat open and comes running to attack it with her claws for some reason. Then I lie on my stomach and arch my back, lifting my upper body up with my arms twice for thirty seconds. She stops clawing and just lies beside me.

When I turn over on my back she sometimes lies down beside my head on her back with her hind legs and tail up against my head. It’s like she is providing me with moral support. I end up laughing at her.

Then she lies down coyly with her favorite straw which she almost looks at lovingly as I hide it under the mat or scratch the mat with it making funny noises and she watches and dives under the mat to get the straw. So I play with her and take a break.

Norie sleeps on my bed part of the night. She is very accepting of the noise, pipe and mask of my CPAP machine, which surprised and pleased me, because I sure don’t want her poking holes in the pipe with her claws.

The one thing she does that drives me crazy has to do with her tummy. I can walk by her and see her, lying on her back. She gives me this cute look as her front paws rest on her chest and her soft fuzzy belly almost invites me to rub it. But I know she does not like belly rubs. But she stays in that position and looks at me coyly.

If I move even a finger toward her belly, she watches it as if warning me that she will attack my finger. Sometimes just a paw pushes it away or she shakes her head rapidly. If all else fails and I misread her warnings I see her lunge at my hand to let me know I had better “move it or lose it!”

I know she hates belly rubs so why does she tempt me like that? Just one of the mysteries of owning or being owned by a cat.

I respect her as a fellow being on this planet who is sharing her life with me. I appreciate her personality, friendship, humorous behaviors, and what she has taught me about living with another being. I am very thankful for our friendship.