Annie

Annie lives with Fergus and other FIV positive cats in the New AIDS house. Whenever I sit down, she manages to get around what seems to be a logistical impossibility of finding a little cuddle space that’s not already occupied by a furry purring mass of Fergus. A knee, a hip, the arm of the chair (as in the photo from Sunday’s post)… she’s flexible.Once thus installed, it’s a matter of waiting for the tail to start swishing wildly back and forth. This isn’t the red alert warning that it might be for another, more temperamental cat. If anything, she seems to mean it something more akin to wagging and generally accompanies the movement with a good deal of purring and circling. But, being a cat and not a dog, each circle will ideally position her to lightly slap the sitter across the face a few times with her tail. Ideally for her, not so great, perhaps, for the recipient.

For me, this little quirk is more than made up for by the sight of her face: as she really gets into her cuddle dance, she often lets the tip of her pink tongue out between her teeth. The resulting expression looks faintly ridiculous and totally adorable.