I truly love my two furry darlin’s. But I must confess that Mimi, the female tuxedo cat, sometimes unnerves me.
She’s got two natures. One is a lovable, sweet, very connected and vulnerable creature. When she’s in this space, the pupils of her eyes are wide open. She’s relaxed and responsive to me. She’ll come by the sofa and with her eyes ask if she can join me. I pat my stomach or the couch cushion and up she jumps. She’ll knead me awhile, clean her paws and her face, and then peacefully nap.
At night, we fall asleep together side by side; in the morning, it’s Mimi who wakes me by licking my hair, sniffing my face.
But she has another side: It’s her self-contained, slit-eyed self. Sitting imperially on her haunches on the arm of the sofa, she looks through me with nary a sign of recognition. I don’t take it personally because she doesn’t seem to pay any attention to her brother either when she’s in this space.
When the spirit moves her, she jumps down and she’s ready to relate again.
I must admit I’m curious and a little jealous at just how able she is to be both intimately connected and a creature unto herself.
Do your cats have this dual nature?
—Anne Simpkinson
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