Almost every child at some point has
played a game with many names, interchangeable even within the same
household, in which they pretend the floor is made of lava and they
must therefore avoid stepping on it at all costs. Cats play this
game, too, but take it much more seriously, for cats not only have
nine lives and an unquenchable curiosity, but they also have
imaginations so potent that while wrapped in the throws of a fancy,
their thoughts may as well be real for them. Hot lava, whether made
of molten rock or a thick shag carpet, burns. This is why your cat
prefers to sit on chairs or the keyboard of your computer, why he
leaps to the top shelf, climbs your curtains, or sinks his claws into
the couch when you try to move him. The floor burns, and he wants
nothing to do with it.
Of course, the burn is entirely
imaginary, and thus can be dispelled with the greatest of ease. Cats
are curious creatures, so one need simply change their minds about
what the world is. A laser pointer will make him forget about the
wood tiled lava and become instead, the brave cat scientist out to
save the world from tiny red devils, and a spray of water will make
him imagine a hurricane and he will seek shelter in the caves under
the table or behind the entertainment center.
- Originally mailed to L. Bourlet from Biloxi, Mississippi
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