My cat Eleanor is currently upstairs in my bedroom, wrapped up in my comforter, and probably sharing a bowl of cream and some cookies with the fairy, named Sassi, who resides in my house plants. This is Elli’s day off. Yesterday she was out, doing important C.A.T. work for the agency. Top secret, you know.
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Elli is pink. Well, partially pink. She has a pink streak down her face and pink spots all over. Her markings are really quite similar to her Tortoiseshell sister, Arwen.
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| This was little baby Arwen. This is behavior that she still frequently engages in. |
Elli likes to be in the thick of things. Which, since she is a cat, means that she likes to sleep curled up in the exact middle of whatever we happen to be working on.
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| This is Elli. There really is a cat in there, I promise. |
One of my favorite things to do when I’m writing is to have an hour or two entirely my own, a cup of hot chai tea at my elbow (but not too close or I might knock it over), and Elli curled up nearby (but not on my wrist.)
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| This is okay. |
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| This is my writing desk. This is less okay. |
Elli likes books. She likes to be read to, she likes to sleep on them, she likes to bat at the pages with her paw when I turn them, and she likes to weave herself in, under, on, or around them while I’m reading and not paying enough attention to her. She probably reads them too, but she doesn’t write book reports for me so I can’t say for certain.
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| Classic novels are a good place for a luxurious bath. |
Yes, I asked her permission before I shared pictures of her. She didn’t mind too much as long as I didn’t start telling embarrassing stories. She is a cat, thank you, and has dignity.
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| In front of the kitchen cookstove is a good place, if I’m working in there. |
Elli likes to sit on the dog crate in the kitchen while I’m cooking and glare disdainfully at Lute. Lute is my family’s black Lab. They are not the best of friends.
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| And the best place to be is right in the middle of whatever I’m working on. |
Elli is just generally a helpful sort of cat, you know?
Copyright 2016 by Annie Louise Twitchell