Caturday ~ Clawdia and Snoopy

Clawdia's busy napping, so I'll post something for her today.  (Clawdia's position doesn't look very comfortable to me, with one back paw under her chin and ... hmm ... which back paw is where?)

Charles Schulz summed up Snoopy's character in a 1997 interview:

"He has to retreat into his fanciful world in order to survive. Otherwise, he leads kind of a dull, miserable life. I don't envy dogs the lives they have to live."

I wrote about Snoopy here, along with a bunch of other animals, both real and literary.  I'm sharing this quote from Charles Schulz again because it also describes Clawdia.  Her life is much too deprived of people during most days.  She loves, loves, loves people!

Here's a photo of Clawdia the time she ran to be petted by Sharon, who lives at the other end of our hallway.  Sharon is allergic to cats, but she's still friends with Clawdia.

Being left alone in our apartment whenever I go to lunch with someone or to a meeting or to exercise classes, Clawdia has taken advantage of her own "fanciful world" for her own sanity.  Like all cats I've known, she will chase her tail or even something in her imagination.  She lunges, she feints, she circles, she stands fierce, and I wonder what she's chasing in her mind.  Mostly, though, Clawdia figures out how to tell me she wants to go for a walk or get tasty treats.

She will sit on the arm of my chair and gently place a paw on my arm to get my attention.  Then she wiggles her fingers like a massage to say, "I'm wanting your attention."  When I stop reading or typing, she gets a "please, please, please" look in her eyes.  If I say "okay" and stand up, she runs where she wants me to follow.

• 

  stopping at Tiny's door

  If it's to the door into the hallway, I know she wants out of the apartment.  If I open that door, she often goes only as far as Tiny's door, wanting to visit her.  If I refuse to knock, Clawdia sometimes acquiesces, but then again she may not follow until I've disappeared around the corner toward the elevators.
• If she heads toward the kitchen, I know she wants food.
• If she goes where I keep her treats, well, you figure it out.

Clawdia has trained me well.