I heard the cat hissing and growling from behind the lounge sofa in the living room. She had been cornered there, and her cries for help gave me fair warning that she was about to resort to the only self defense tactic left -- violence! I scrambled to get there as quickly as I could, but was too late. My 10 month old son, the youngest, had a solid grip on her tail with both hands and was pulling with all his might. As you might expect, the cat turned and bit him. Surprised, and not quite sure what had just happened, Pete let go of the cat's tail and then looked at his hand for a long time. I picked him up and searched him for signs a bite mark, but found none. The cat's strike had been a mere warning, probably to me as much as to Pete. Then Pete looked into my face, gave me a huge toothless grin, and grabbed my nose so hard I thought it was going to bleed.
Pete just loves the cat. He follows her around the house wearing his great big grin. Usually, just before he can reach her, she glides away and resettles, sleeping with one eye open so that she'll be prepared repeat the maneuver. But this time, the cat had no escape. She allowed herself toi be trapped in a compromised situation.
In times of trouble and danger, we should all be so lucky to get a warning like the cat gave to Pete. Then again, what good is a warning to if we don't recognize it. It will be interesting to see if this changes the way Pete relates to the cat, but knowing my happy little bundle of energy, I suspect it won't.
Todays lesson: avoid compromised situations.
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