Meow meow

Every morning I follow roughly the same routine. Somewhere in the mix of things, usually wedged between putting in my contacts and taking my shower, I brush my beloved cat Ollie.

Ollie has a lot of fur. When she was a kitten, I trained her to stand on the toilet seat to be brushed; this was easy on my back, as I could sit on the edge of the tub, and it limited the flying fur to one part of the apartment. (yes, I've always been slightly anal. thank you for noticing)

To this day, Ollie will race you down the hallway and hop on the toilet seat as you enter the bathroom, ever hopeful that you are there to brush her (and not use the facilities).

Ollie is a trusting cat. I can flip her on her back and brush her belly. She lets exactly two people in the world handle her this way, me and Monkey's daddy. We are her humans.

As I flipped Ollie this morning for a full belly brushing, and both felt and listened to the deep guttural purring rumbling out of her, I thought of what an emblem of trust this was: a cat, fully exposed. Because come on, how many cats have you ever known that would willingly do that?

I remember my childhood pet, Puff, and how she would hide when my neighbor Buddy would come over. Buddy had teased her maybe three times, and she decided that she was done with him. Now, he grew to be a perfectly decent man, husband and father. I'm happy he is still my friend. But I remember how he violated Puff's trust and that was it.

I hope Monkey grows up to be deserving of Ollie's trust. While dogs are seemingly incapable of not loving humans, cats are more picky. Like us humans, with our opposable thumbs and complex emotions, cats only trust you if you earn it, and earn it consistently.

Maybe that should be our model for teaching Monkey to deal with both humans and animals. She needs to consistently treat them with the respect and compassion they deserve. She needs to prove, each time she deals with them, that she is worthy of their trust.

So far, she is winning Ollie's trust. A serious infusion of treats helps this process along. But so does Monkey's willingness (and ability) to gently pet and hug Ollie, her "meow meow." Ok, all together now, say "awwwwww."