... is a cat, who looks rather like sylvester. francisco doesn't lisp, not as i can tell.
he is quite interesting.
he comes from great distances to great his family, when they approach the driveway to their apartment in either of the family cars. and, me, in my car. and, no one else. whenever he sees me afoot, coming or going, he will run from across the street, making much noise, to get his pets, and a scratch behind the ear. i have learned not to scratch his belly when he turns on his back, because to do so results in being gripped quite tightly by the claws of all four paws, just enough to pierce the outer layer of skin, which gives him a surprisingly good purchase of my arm, and also having the butt of my thumb also gripped very tightly in his mouth.
apparently their is a kitty kat science on this, because he seldom draws blood, but will leave a little indent in the skin with his teeth, and a little red color at the bottom of it. it is a rather calculating precision, i think, though at times he gets a little enthusiastic and will leave scratches.
it is a bit tricky getting loose, in this situation, because he does not want to let loose.
he will follow humans around, just to see what is going on.
another neighbor of mine, a cat whose name i do not know, also comes to my approach as i walk the sidewalk, and he/she/it also likes a bit of a pet, and when that is over he/she/it likes to play tag with my feet as i walk. this cat especially enjoys it if i am wearing shoes with laces, because that is something to try and catch and it weaves from between my feet. i go in fits and starts, and feint one direction and go another, and he/she/it likes to stay in tight to my right foot, and crowd it, to try and force me from the sidewalk. now and again, i will "fake" this cat out, and she breaks into a run to catch up, and then cuts right in front of me when she does. the only thing that seems to confuse he/she/it is when i turn completely around and walk in a circle, and sometimes she just seems discombobulated by this.
i find this all rather fun.
the neighbors probably have a time trying to decide which of us is more daft, the cat risking being stepped on or having its feet crunched, as we bob and weave down the sidewalk. the cat delights at this game, and has followed me sometimes for almost a block. it does not go past the intersection of 8th onto mill street, however, that being past its comfort level, territorially speaking.
this cat enjoys very much basking in the sunlight on top of its family's ford excursion, and leaps to the ground to join me for a stroll. i have not seen it engage in this behavior with anyone else, because (i am assuming) no one else is silly enough to stop and play with it, and then walk and join in its little kitty games.
i do not give either cat food. never have. that is the job of each respective family. the cats don't seem to need food to "reinforce" these little games. they just seem to enjoy the play.
i think they do this because they like me, enjoy my company, and reciprocate my appreciation of them, and affection toward them. my neighbor georgia doesn't like either of them, because they poop in her lawn and eat her flowers. she yells at them, and ever now and again will give chase with a broom. they do not play with her.
for what it is worth, they do not seem to poop in my lawn very much, though both of them have been known to nap on my porch.
what larger significance do i attach to all of this? why, perfectly not at all. nor can i attest to any affection running between them, though they do not seem to square off as they do with all the other cats running loose in the neighborhood. (no, we don't have many song birds about.) and, i have seen francisco in the quail brambles, on the edge of town just across the bridge when i walk. he does not approach me there, ... , he is working, pursuing his avid interest in avian hunting. you wouldn't have interrupted w.d.m. bell stalking a tusker, now, would you? not if you'd had a brain in your head, you wouldn't have.
i just get a kick out of both of them. and, they me, for whatever reason. i do not think that either of them blogs, though it might prove interesting were they to.
john jay @ 02.19.2012
p.s. i would not encourage this sort of interaction with lions and tigers, nor leopards. they seem a bit reserved for this sort of thing.
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