This Cool Thing My Cat Did
So today I'm walking down a hallway, shoes on and intent to getting to the door because, darn it, if I don't go shopping today I'll have to go a sixth day without a shower curtain. And Tiny, all twelve pounds of inquisitive nannyish boy-cat, comes down the hallway the other way. It's a narrow hallway because the apartment's small and there's a vacuum cleaner on one side of it, so we can't pass by each other comfortably.
Tiny looks at me, looks at my big clunky shoes (which he hates me wearing, since they make me clumsy and noisy), and stops right where he is. He's saying, "Uhh... you first," and thinking "Bzzzzt! Clumsy human sighted! Collision avoidance system activated!"
I look at Tiny and I automatically move to the side of the hallway, pressing myself against the wall. Tiny sees this, his tail goes up, and he marches through the provided gap. He's acknowledging that I've given him the right of way, and he's saying, "Thanks, have a good day!"
I've seen this happen so many times with humans in narrow spaces, but I didn't realize cats did it, too. It shouldn't surprise me that Tiny gets the idea of sharing a narrow hallway, since he's so good at figuring out everything else I do. In fact, I'm pretty sure he gets it better than me--there have been many times when I've run into things, tangled up foot traffic, and generally caused confusion because I couldn't insert myself properly into the rhythm of people walking and sharing a sidewalk. But Tiny gets it.
My cat is awesome.
Tiny looks at me, looks at my big clunky shoes (which he hates me wearing, since they make me clumsy and noisy), and stops right where he is. He's saying, "Uhh... you first," and thinking "Bzzzzt! Clumsy human sighted! Collision avoidance system activated!"
I look at Tiny and I automatically move to the side of the hallway, pressing myself against the wall. Tiny sees this, his tail goes up, and he marches through the provided gap. He's acknowledging that I've given him the right of way, and he's saying, "Thanks, have a good day!"
I've seen this happen so many times with humans in narrow spaces, but I didn't realize cats did it, too. It shouldn't surprise me that Tiny gets the idea of sharing a narrow hallway, since he's so good at figuring out everything else I do. In fact, I'm pretty sure he gets it better than me--there have been many times when I've run into things, tangled up foot traffic, and generally caused confusion because I couldn't insert myself properly into the rhythm of people walking and sharing a sidewalk. But Tiny gets it.
My cat is awesome.