The Cat is a Hat…
And Other Callie-isms
In the cat world, grooming is important.
In Callie’s world, grooming is everything.
Allogrooming, a social grooming behavior between members of the same species, is very common in cats. Grooming can be a sign of affection.
Or a sign of dominance.
For Callie, the species designation is not particularly important. This social grooming behavior applies to her chosen human as well.
Does she love him?
Or does she just want to outrank him?
We choose to believe it’s a sign of love.
Here she is, grooming her Daddy from her perch.
On his head.
This is not a one-time event. Given the choice, she will happily perch on his hat. Or directly on his head. It’s a little harder now than it was when she was a kitten—there’s simply more of her these days—but she still tries.
And succeeds more often than you’d expect.
The princess needs her bath
Callie also expects Dad to reciprocate this grooming arrangement.
She enjoys bath time.
Not actual baths, mind you. That would be ridiculous.
Instead, she stands on the edge of the bathroom sink and screams until Dad arrives to supervise her spa treatment.
Sometimes she waits patiently.
Sometimes she sits in the sink.
As it fills with water.
Because apparently this is normal behavior for a cat.
We’ve stopped questioning it.
At this point, we’ve accepted that Callie has her own set of rules. Dad is responsible for grooming. Callie is responsible for grooming Dad. Running water is required for proper bathing procedures.
And baseball caps are simply elevated grooming stations.
We’re not entirely sure whether she’s expressing affection or asserting authority.
Either way, Dad has accepted his fate.
