From the Archives: A Breakfast Drama
The typical morning scenario from this date in 2009: Peaches obviously reacting to something and Namir, well, being Namir.
Peaches was one extremely patient and understanding senior kitty. All she wanted was her little can of food twice a day, and then some in between. I fed everyone dry food then as a cost saving, but the most senior cat had the opportunity for canned food to which I added extra liquid. Peaches reliably showed up whenever her special mealtime was imminent. In this case it was right after everyone had had breakfast.
Namir by this time was also eating canned food. He was in his fifth year of congestive heart failure and needed the extra nutrition and liquid to help him digest his four major heart medications each day and counteract the dehydrating effects of the diuretic he took to keep the fluid from building up around his heart. But he was still his goofy self, and also had a silly habit of swatting the other cats, and sometimes me, often for no apparent reason, just because we were there. It wasn’t a mean swat and never hard, but among cats a swat is a major event.
Nearly each time he and Peaches arrived on the cabinet for their meal, Namir would sit quietly for a minute or so while I got dishes ready.
Then he’d purposefully get up and walk toward Peaches. About once a week he would swat Peaches on the face, not hard, but from the first time he did swat her Peaches was ready and braced herself waiting for the big slap—she was focused on me, but she’d see him get up and move toward her and this expression would ensue. Peaches never raised a paw toward anyone.
When done playing out this pantomime, they would eat peacefully, as if nothing had happened.
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