Paws to Admire

Have you ever noticed how really exquisite cats’ feet are?  I’ll come clean:  I have a huge foot fetish – or maybe it’s more accurate to call it a paw fetish.  But I’m mesmerized by the beauty of the feline foot.  As I write this, I’m trying to put my finger on exactly why. Mostly, I think, I’m in love with the shape – often there’s such an elegant length of graceful leg, ending in a lovely big blob of furry roundness – the leg like a dancer’s, the paw like a powder puff.

Sometimes just the powder puff itself is enthralling.

Perhaps Gina has been inspiring the other cats, as someone else is clearly trying to compete with her for the poofiest feet.

Sometimes what I love is the angle of their paws, the way their hind feet jut out from those lovely round haunches at a cheeky side-ways angle.  Did you ever see such exquisitely poofy caramel perfection??

Sometimes a cat’s paws stick out enticingly from under a furry flap of tummy, like those of an Emperor penguin protecting its egg. I also love the way the paws are so often white on an otherwise non-white cat, as if nature had taken a moment to highlight this exquisite detail.

It’s clear (at least to me) that the cats know how beautiful their feet are, and often display themselves to advantage.

And last but not least, there is sweet sweet Cookie, who knows that paws can be useful too. When I’m sitting on the stairs giving out treats, he’ll sit behind me and use his paw to tap me on the shoulder every time he wants another one. I don’t have a picture of his feet, but here he is learning to take selfies.  Clever boy, that Cookie.