The Achievement of the Cat
It might be hard to believe if you saw him sleeping peacefully on Pat’s lap, but Nicky has always been easily persuaded to turn into a tough guy. Right after we adopted him, we temporarily converted the spare bedroom into his nursery, and when someone entered the room the tiny black kitten would stare fiercely from a corner and hiss, as though to warn you he would tear you apart if you got any closer.
He’s gone beyond hissing as he’s grown up. One afternoon, he was lying on the floor in front of the refrigerator when its motor came on. Startled, Nicky leaped up, back arched and teeth bared, and faced the refrigerator.
As an honorable cat, Nicky waited a moment to give it a chance to apologize for disturbing him. When it didn’t, he looked it over, sized it up, and perhaps decided that even if it was bigger, it wasn’t tougher than he is.
Then Nicky reached out with a paw and gave the offending machine two quick cuffs. It didn’t fight back, and Nicky turned and walked away, apparently satisfied that he had taught it a lesson about starting something with a lion-hearted little cat