Gigi Salem

It occurred to me, as I floundered for a topic, how musical my cat is. Yes, I just said that, and I meant it!

For one thing, Clive is what we cat people like to call a “talker.” The biggest talkers in the feline world tend to be the various flavors of Siamese. Now, since I got my best friend at the Humane Society, I can’t be sure what his actual breed is even though he presents as either a Russian Blue or possibly Korat. Both of these have Siamese in their genetics. What’s a talker? Well, when you speak to him, he meows back. He will even hold “conversations” with you if he’s in the mood. He makes use of inflection and tone to get his message across.

For example? When I lived on my own, my mom would come visit once a week. She would walk in the door and he would greet her. Once she responded he would “tell” her all about the things she’d missed in the past week.

In addition to that trait, he wears a collar and tags. Without these he is a stealthy ninja. With them he jingles as he walks, runs, jumps, or otherwise gets into mischief. I love the music his tags make when I get home from work and he runs up to greet me. Add that to his meow of greeting and it’s like having a tiny theme song every time I walk in the door! The only better music is the sound of his purr when I scratch his chin.

Clive also has very definite tastes in “real” music. He despises “Band on the Run” and bites at my ankles every time I try to play it! He doesn’t like metal and will meow loudly his disapproval and distress. Jazz seems to be his favorite so far, inducing him to curl up near the speakers.

So, what about the animals in your life? What sort of music do they make?