Day 300: When I went to bed last night, I had no idea that today would be International Cat Day. Had I known, I would have saved Merry's portrait for the occasion. I cannot let the day go unobserved, so instead, I am going to tell you an endearing story. Y'see, Merry is at the age where his permanent teeth are coming in. His little mouth hurts sometimes, and it makes him cranky and bitey. I'm not always attuned to what's going on because kittens have to have their "wild animal" moments as they strive to become civilized, but Merry is a smart little guy. Three times now, he has retrieved his toothbrush from the table, communicating to me that he wants his gums rubbed with the flat side of the bristles. This morning, he couldn't get enough of it, and even after I had applied his enzymatic kitty toothpaste, he wanted me to continue massaging with the brush. Our companion creatures are a lot more intelligent than most people give them credit for. He's only 18 weeks old, and he's already figured out how to get at least one point across to his rather dim-bulb mama. That merits celebrating on International Cat Day.
