Sometimes, It’s Okay to be Catty

I was parked in front of a friend’s house and ready to get out of the car when I noticed the old lady across the street. She came slowly out of her house dressed in her nightgown with thick, blue socks rolled down around the tops of her clunky black shoes. A hard scowl pressed her wrinkles into an expression that wasn’t altogether inviting. She stooped to peer at something under the overgrown ferns at the edge of her porch, and I wondered what poor animal was about to get ousted from its comfy spot.

It was a cat, and it wasn’t getting ousted. It twined its soft body around her thin ankles as she laid down a tiny dish of water, spilling only a little when her hands shook. From somewhere came another furry body and that’s when I noticed there were five cats striking various poses of laziness all over her porch.

After seeing the brittle expression on her face, I’m not sure I would have had the nerve to go say hi. I don’t think her lips curved into anything resembling a smile as she greeted her cats. Somehow, though, I don’t think the cats noticed and they greeted her hard grimace with soft, gentle caresses and wrapped their soft tails around her wrinkled legs while she stood there with them.

I thought about that after I left. The old lady didn’t seem to reciprocate the affection she received wrapped in loads of warm fur, but the cats gave it anyway. I remember the times I’ve chosen not to say hi or smile at an elderly individual out of fear that it wouldn’t be welcome. I decided I don’t care if it’s welcome or not, because obviously looks can be deceiving. I decided that sometimes, it’s okay to be catty. I’m going to practice being catty as often as I can and maybe I’ll challenge others to be catty too. Maybe it’ll be someone like you.

-Lanie Barrett
image via cloud_nine