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Some time back, and multiple kitties ago, we were "given" a black cat with amber eyes that we named Pixel for his habit of appearing out of nowhere like the cat of the same name in the Robert Heinlein novels. He was a great cat but a few bricks shy of a load. He loved to sneak out of nowhere and bap Muffin on the nose and take off running with poor old Muffin trying to catch the smaller, younger and quicker Pixel. He would disappear and show up later laughing at Muffin and his attempts to get even. Muffin was all male machismo and felt Pixel's attacks with every fiber of his soul.
Early one spring morning I was seeing Rob off to do a VIP flight to the Indy 500 when Pixel shot out of nowhere and shot up a huge old maple tree in our back yard. The lowest branches of this tree were level with the roof of an old victorian two story house with 12 foot ceilings. Rob and I stood on the patio looking up at the pitifully mewing Pixel as he sat on the lowest branch of the tree. There was nothing we could do. Even if we had a ladder, there was none that would reach up to the kitten. Rob had to leave and I couldn't let the poor baby sit up in the tree alone, so I brought my coffee out and sat on the patio sipping it and wracking my brains trying to come up with a way to get the poor guy down. I'd called and took out snacks and I couldn't think of any other option at that time. Pixel would have to work his way down on his own.
I was on my second pot of coffee and Muffin was sitting on a lawn chair sharing a bacon sandwich with me when Pixel finally made his way down the tree. He was a pitiful sight, as he mewed with each new claw hold down the rough bark. Muffin was watching him intently. When Pixel was almost to the bottom of the tree, Muffin calmly walked over to the tree and waited. Pixel tried to shift around the tree so that Muffin wasn't underneath him, but Muffin was up on every move Pixel tried to make. I watched fascinated as the two cats matched wits and wills with each other.
Finally Pixel's claws gave out and he fell the last four feet to the ground. I was up and running across the yard to get the little guy when I noticed Muffin. I swear that he was holding on his sides and rolling around on the gournd laughing. Pixel apparently thought so too, as he stalked over to Muffin and slapped him as hard as he could across the face. Muffin didn't seem to care, he was having too much fun. Of course, I didn't help any as I was laughing as hard as Muffin. I'm not sure how much of that laughter was in relief for Pixel getting down and how much at Pixel's reaction to Muffin laughing.
Any other's notice that their cats seem to laugh at each other and the human condition?
Editor's note:
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