feline fetish

lazy cat at the window of a bookshop i passed by the other day. i grew up with cats all my life, and as a kid i used to pretend to be a cat too. the perils of being an only child: serious identity crisis. i'd stuff the tip of my school belt down the top of my shorts for a tail, and sit on my bum with my legs on either side and my hands in front and miao loudly at my grandma. she got pretty annoyed with me, of course.

did you know that a cat will almost never meow at another cat? that sound is reserved for humans?

i'd sun myself outside and roll on the ground with my other cats. and pretend to lick myself, though i couldn't reach very far. i'd try a bit of the canned food i fed them - very very fishy! i also shared my chocolate/strawberry/banana milk from school with them, which they licked from my hand.

did you know that a cat can't taste sugar nor salt?

when my cats came to me, i'd imagine they were telling me their stories or secrets, and i in turn told them mine. i'd follow them up the mango tree, and scratch myself climbing up the trunk and get bitten by the angry red ants. i'd walk and sit with them on the brick fence and watch the world go by, or peer into my neighbour's backyard. i'd hang out with my cats in the drain outside my house, and pick flowers for my scrapbook (very uncat-like!).

did you know that a cat is only 1 of 3 animals that walk by moving both left feet together, followed by both right feet? the other 2 animals being the camel and the giraffe.

these days i wish i could be an animagus so i can change my form when i'm sick of being a human. how very convenient it would be if i could turn into a cat and ignore submission deadlines, or take a swipe at the lecturers when they're being arrogant or unreasonable, or hiss at those weirdos on the street who pester me for money.

did you know that cats can predict earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and electrical storms?

or i can have an alternate career at the meteorological centre.