Thoughts on Hitty Cats

In one of the apartments we checked out yesterday, there was a long-legged, lithe, all-black kitten, really similar to Sandya's cat Jake (or Bobo, as his friends call him, pictured here) as a youth. Same body type, same sort of short, shiny coat, same amber eyes... and the same temperament. I let the kitty sniff my hands and it got all archy-backed and coy and I started the petting. Then came purry and lovey for about three seconds, but before I knew what happened, it smacked me with both front feet! So offensive! Freaking venus fly trap.

Which ties in nicely to an idea I've been formulating, that cat qualities come in clusters. For example, there seem to be three kinds of black-and-whites. Oscar's kind of black-and-white has a super-soft coat, has short legs, and tends to be small and round like a sausage (or should I say wurst, given the Germany-related nature of this blog); accompanying personality features include general ferocity and a propensity to bite and to fetch. Another kind of black-and-white has more white and tends to have a bigger build. The third kind is almost all black with small patches of white on the chest, face, and feet, and these kitties tend to have slightly longer hair. As for the all-black* cats, Jake is clearly a different kind from X, who had a more bear-like build, longer, less-fluffy hair, and a more stoic temperament; I've met other cats that are X's kind. This new encounter suggests that there might just be a Jake kind, complete with a tendency to lure and hit. Keep your distance from cats that look like this one unless you want to get slapped.

*Jake maintains his youthful, all-black appearance with a little help from a pair of tweezers. I wish I were joking.