Roberto the Cheetah

It is overcast and beginning to get cold here again after a brief warm spell.

My Burmese, Little Neal, and my mackerel tabby, Philipo, are stretched out on the bed with me enjoying the heat from the electric blanket. When it’s too cold to go outside, they tend to go onto automatic pilot, just turn themselves off and hibernate for the day, waiting for better weather.

Roberto, our marmalade tabby is curled up in an arm chair in the guest bedroom which he took over from our ocicat, Lilli. She frowns on the turn of events, but reluctantly shares the room with him, if not the armchair.

Roberto is a funny kitty. Long and tall and thin, he must have some cheetah in his genes. He walks with his head down, can run as fast as the wind, and has that cheetah recline. He lays on his side with his head up, surveying the tundra, and patting the tip of his very long tail as he thinks.

He’s a smart kitty as well. He has a habit of drinking water with his paw instead of his mouth. He will put his paw into the water, cup his hand and bring the water up to his mouth.

He has another habit that amazes us every time we see it. It comes to mind because we watched him do it last night. We were standing in the kitchen after clearing up and talking. We noticed Roberto sitting beside the food and water dishes. He was scooping up dry food in his paw and putting it into the water dish. He would play with it for a minute, bobbing it in the water, then after it had enough time to absorb some moisture, he’d pick it up with his paw and eat it out of his hand.

This is smart. Definitely smart.