I love cats. Cats are wonderful animals. I like that they come in all shapes, sizes and colours. There are the fat, round ones that tuck themselves in, looking like perfect loaves of bread or hovercats, depending on how you feel about them. They look at you with their large eyes and round faces. Some of them have folded ears like Scottish Folds (hence the name), and their stocky bodies are furry and squishy beyond measure. Cats are liquid. They take the shape of any container, and can act like a slinky and slide down the stairs. There are skinny cats with long tails that sometimes curve like a question mark, as if to ask me for treats. There are cats with no hair, and there are cats with so much hair that you need to vaccum the house for days.
But most of all, cats are silly. They trip and fall clumsily, and then get up with an air that says, “I meant to do that, really!”
And here is a cat that I know. A cat that is so much like a diva but would sacrifice all her dignity for salmon treats. A cat so elegant but also clumsy and silly. This is Shadow. What a cat.