Got a little story about Cleo, think this goes miles to explaining how perceptive this cat is.

Okay, so last week, on Wednesday, my grandmother invites me to her cottage. Dad is bringing dinner over on Thursday, and I'm thinking maybe he can mind the cat for the weekend. So I call my Dad Wednesday night, tell him about the cottage invitation (given the weather today, didn't miss much). Ask him if he'll kindly take the Cleo home with him when he leaves Thursday, and return her on Sunday or Monday.

Now as it turned out, I got an answering machine message a short while later, and Dad said he was too busy to mind the Cleo. That I'd have to postpone my cottaging for another time. Well, I was disappointed and all, but these things happen, and the weather isn't great this year anyway for that sort of thing, so I called my grandmother to cancel.

Now, for the cute part... Dad comes over on Thursday with my favourite meal, Chicken Sandwiches. I think it's Cleo's favourite as well. I looked in my room to see Cleo in her bed, ears were flat to each side, she was a MAD CAT. Pointed it out to Dad, he said "yep she looks pissed off". I turned my back for barely a minute, when I went to look, the Cleo was gone. Thought she went to check out what Dad brought for dinner, but no Cleo in the kitchen. I checked my room, then under the bed. A scared looking Cleo was hiding in the corner under my bed.

Cleo always comes to say hi to Dad, she did the last time he was here... even though she's staying in my room a little more when he visits, she's become less demanding of my Dad's attention when he stopped shooing her away (he's got allergies and she makes his eyes water). Well he likes her now, so he pets her when she comes over to say hi (but then has to wash his hands, just like me... cat dander in my eyes is nasty).

Cleo did NOT come out the whole time Dad was there. Not five minutes after he leaves, after we ate this good smelling food and she stayed away... she comes out. She waited for him to leave before coming out. Told Dad she seemed to be scared of him tonight, he says "Maybe she heard you on the phone asking me to babysit her for the weekend". That made me laugh... I'm sure she wouldn't understand anyway, but it's the intuition I was up to something she picked up on. That was so cute.

Hopefully she'll come out to say hi next time... I'll have to be more careful to do my scheming when Cleo's out of the room.

Copyright © Rachel Upton
September 24, 2000

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