Matilda

The difference between a dog and cat.

You play fetch throwing a ball to a dog and he will go, picks it up and brings it back to you, as many times as you want for as long as you want.

Cats play fetch, too, but on their own rules. My cat, Matilda, loves fetching, however...

I throw a small yarn ball from my bedroom into the living room. She jumps on, fetches it and brings it back, jumps on the bed right in front of face and drops the ball, once, twice, three times. That is it, now she changes the rules and makes something different every time.

The fourth time she picks it up and brings the ball half way, then she walked to me, looks up and meows, as if she were saying, "it's your turn to pick it up."

And I have to. I pick it up and I throw it away again, then she goes picks it up, waits a bit, comes back into the room, jumps on my bed by my feet and HIDES the ball under the sheets, the comes to me and meows. She has a lot of fun looking at me (does not miss one of my moves) searching for the ball!

When I find it I throw it away again. She picks it up and goes to the bathroom with it, comes back meows and looks at the bathroom to tell me where the yarn ball is. On top of it, some times while I am asleep, she brings her yarn ball and drops it in front of my face, then pushes it onto my nose until I wake up.

Every game is a totally different story. And so on. If that is not communication, what is?

Copyright © Ralph Rewes
April 17, 2001