One of the million things I love about Bear is that he puts his whole heart into whatever he's doing. Quite often, this means he hasn't thought his entire plot through or that his whole heart is into making me pay for some perceived slight. But watching him love, play, fight, rebel, come closer, swell with pride and confidence, and just be himself - each with his whole heart, is just plain incredible. Not only do I admire his spirit, but I also wish I lived my life as completely and fully as my Bear Cat.
On Momma Kat's Facebook page, I suggested an entire post in pictures: while I didn't get much feedback about the idea, this post focuses on pictures - with some explanations. My confidence in my abilities is usually lacking, but no where more so than in taking pictures. After reading the camera's manual and playing around a bit, I'm not sure I'm any better, but I love that many of these pictures show Bear in his "whole heart" glory. I even got a few of his mid-pounce cleanings . . . you know, when you're mid-pounce and you just don't quite feel fresh enough . . . so you stop and rectify the situation before proceeding to your prey. I often joke that I'd have named him Narcissus if I'd discovered his penchant for dropping his pounce just to make sure his fur is laying correctly.
For those of our readers who usually feel deprived of pictures on our posts (and for everyone else too) . . . I hope you enjoy these pictures revolving around a towel and a chair (and a cat). And a special "thank you" to Bear, who put up with sharing his play times with extensive photo sessions - even when I promised each time would be the last.
To explain how this combination came about:
About a year ago, Momma got a new desk chair; after an intense night of putting it together, I was looking forward to relaxing in the chair once I'd gotten the box in the dumpster. As so many things in the home of a cat do, things did not go as planned . . . I got back from the dumpster to find this:
Obviously, Momma required a new desk chair . . . but Bear claimed it and stayed in the new chair for the rest of the night. And the next morning, Momma was SURE she'd finally get to try her new chair, but walked out to this:
And so it went . . . every day for a week . . . until the day Bear "slept in" and Momma got to the chair first. Unfortunately, as soon as Momma got up . . . Bear took his rightful (in his mind anyway) spot.
Then a funny thing happened . . . the next day, Momma washed her clothes and linens. While gathering everything, she put a towel that needed washing on the back of her new desk chair (which was occupied by Bear of course) - and Bear jumped off the chair. So Momma found an extra big towel to drape over the chair, and when the towel was on the chair, Bear wouldn't steal Momma's seat.
However, Momma often woke up to find the towel bunched on the floor, with Bear firmly planted in the chair itself.
Bear also liked to use the towel in his play - to hide behind. He'd pull the towel down far enough so that he created the perfect hiding spot (or not so perfect as is more often the case - but just as cute). We all know that when the cat thinks he's hidden, he undoubtedly is . . . even when the pictures show otherwise.
Fast forward to last week. In the last week, Bear decided to try some alternative designs for the towel/chair combo - including pulling the entire towel off, all by himself. First, he pulls the towel off the top of the chair until the entire towel is laying on the seat of the chair. Then, he proceeds to pull the entire towel off the chair. Each day, Bear's redecorating skills and preferences change and improve.
No doubt, Bear felt disappointed to come out the other side of his tunnel to find himself still in Momma's house . . . instead of, say, China . . .
And now a bunch of random "play" shots including a chair, a towel, and a cat . . .
Now, he's so used to being on, around, and under the towel, that it no longer keeps him from stealing Momma's desk chair . . . and he'll attack Momma when she tries to move him, just as before. But since Bear seems to have so much playing on, around, and under the towel, Momma doesn't have the heart to take it away even though it no longer serves its original purpose.
Obviously, the pictures (regardless of my skill level) won't do my wonderful boy justice. But thank you for indulging my "Momma" instincts to crow and share my love (and admiration) for the Bear Cat. As always, I'd love your feedback: what did you like? Not like? Want to see more of? Bear and I appreciate our readers and would like this blog to be more of a community . . . so please share your thoughts, feelings, hopes, and anything else!
We luff the look on his face when you came back into the house. Total innocence.
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