C is for Cats

When I was a child, cats used to be responsible for breaking into the garbage and making a mess, thus earning everybody's antipathy. Specially my brothers', whose job it was to clean up the mess. I was extremely allergic to them, so I kept as far from them as possible.

So although I typically have a lot to say on any topic, "cats" only came to be in this blog because Robin is an enthusiast, to say the least. She has two in her family and then will pour her love on any stray cat that crosses her way. The title for this blog was decided way before we first hugged at Pudong airport.

Cats love me though! Wherever there is a cat around, it will come to auntie Sonia. If they belong with someone, I let them leap onto my lap and pet them. (I know a lost battle when I see one.) Then my eyes get swollen, my nose is runny and I need to take a pill.

I thought my friends Eva and Solomon were completely nuts when they got their first cat, Paco. He got depressed and wouldn't come down from his nook on top of the AC. Not even for food. Eventually, he was prescribed Prozac and a girlfriend. True story.  Paco is still not very social, but when I visit, he comes out. We notice because...my eyes swell, my nose starts acting funny and I need to take a pill.

In Shanghai, cats earned my respect because cats equals no rats. So they are welcome around restaurants. Why they are considered lucky in the whole of China is a puzzle to me. I have managed to spend heaps of time there without ever buying one of those cats that attract fortune. Not even for a lark. Although technically, they are the safest form of cat for me.

To me, the person who's nailed the whole mystery about felines, their allure and their distant cool, is David Novak. Hear all about it in The Snakes' Disguise. I don't want to ruin it for you, so hear it from the man himself.

Check out Robin Bady's blog! We agreed on the theme (China) and titles before starting, and now we blog as a duet. http://startingfromzed.blogspot