I blame Tucker for this. Tucker is Aristotle’s half-brother, but in some ways the one who is most like him in lots of ways including looks. Anyway, Tucker has got a kitten called Archie and they are getting on so well together that now Ari wants a cat. Tucker takes toys for Archie to play with and like all cats Archie reacts by just bopping Tucker on the nose. Tucker is a laid back kind of guy so he doesn’t seem to mind at all. There are several obstacles to Ari getting his own kitten. Firstly our Mistress is badly allergic to them and although she has lived them in the past had to give up because of her allergies. Secondly, and probably rather more importantly the chance are that Shadow would not tolerate it. When I say not tolerate that’s along the lines of cats not tolerating mice, rather than her showing mild irritation. The fact that one of her own sons has so happily welcomed a cat into the family is nothing short of amazing, to me anyway, but then Ari befriends birds in the garden while his mother simply eats them.
Having watched some of the videos of Tucker with Archie I’m sorry to have to say I think the kitten is not only in charge, but may be the more intelligent of the two. It could just be that Tucker is too laid back for his own good, but I suspect there is a thing or two he could learn from that kitten about how to get the best out of his humans. Would you believe the kitten even has his own hammock? Tucker really is missing a trick there. Mind you, having said that, when I tried to get into a hammock with our Mistress some years ago it didn’t go awfully well, so it may be best to forget that one.
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