Daytona

Since I'm cat-owned for the first time in my life, Daytona has had to put in a lot of hard training hours. Right now it's late at night and rather than sleeping, I thought I'd just muse on what an "average" day with this furbaby is like.

• I wake up, and reset the alarm to get an extra 10-30 minutes sleep. Daytona recognizes what the alarm is for. (Back in the day when she wasn't allowed to sleep with me, she learned that the alarm meant it was ok to cry at the other side of the door.) Daytona hops off the bed, and gives me a puzzled look as I go back to bed. She jumps back on the bed with me and starts eating my fingers and sniffing my face. Deciding that the human's not getting up for a while, so she makes herself comfortable by my legs.

• I finally get up and head toward the bathroom to begin the day. Daytona weaves herself among my feet (why do cats do that?!?) until I'm there. While I do what I gotta do, she sets herself in the sink and purrs. The sink amplifies her naturally loud purr, which makes for a really cool sound. When she realizes I need the sink, she moves. Being a straight-from-the-tap kind of cat, she knows that I'll be providing her with the morning refreshment as I wash my face and so on.

• As I dress, Daytona plays among what clothes I have on the floor from the night before. If I'm in the walk-in closet with closed door, she sticks her paws underneath. We play a game of "catch the hand." I open the door, she runs in and starts playing with my dry cleaning. I scoop her up and shut the door.

• I eat my breakfast with her in my bedroom, door closed. She either cries or makes herself at home on my bed. I let her out before going to work, and she tries to block my way. I throw a treat down the hallway while arming myself with a squirt bottle, and quickly scuttle out of there.

• When I'm at work, I have no idea what she's doing. I probably don't want to know.

• As I walk toward my apartment, Daytona sees me from the patio window. If I stop halfway, she scolds me. I don't hear her, but I will see flashes of pink amidst the solid black where her mouth is. I finish climbing the steps, and she runs to the door. I arm the squirt bottle, and unlock the door. Any delay in this results in loud protests from her. If she's 3 feet from the door, she gets a treat. Any closer results in a warning squirt or two.

• Upon entering, Daytona continues to scold me. In the middle of scolding, she'll go to the kitty house and scratch on its carpeted surface, then return to scold me some more. I sit down, she hops on my lap, double checks that I'm ok, then goes about her business. If she sees me headed toward the bathroom, she'll remind me that it's time to get another drink, even though I have a fresh supply of water for her in the kitchen.

• Through the rest of the day, she may leave me alone, sit in my lap and sleep, or play tackle game with me. She will hide behind a corner or some other scenery, and as I walk by, she'll jump out spread-eagle and bear-hug my leg. Sometimes I get a little love nip. After she has caught her prey, she either runs off to avoid retaliation or finds another spot to hide and prepare to do it again.

• At night, she reclines on the headboard above my bed to make certain that no nasties get me. Then she jumps down (landing on either my chest or back) and finds that just-right spot by my legs to go to sleep, purring at a day well spent.

That was long, but that's my daily routine. Has anybody else been trained by their kitties like I have?

Copyright © Karen Hooper
April 7, 2000