I monitor their sleep as a nurse monitors the terminally ill, see them through their turns, keep myself close by, look into their REM movements in the night. As the lights of passing traffic flash across the wall, a small eye of it is cast off the mirror and into his eyes, partly open. Their Tapetum is oddly unreflective.

I’m lying here thinking about perceiving. I have a sense of taste buds and secondly my jacobson’s sense, neither of which is gathering anything out of the ordinary just now. Thirdly, I have another sense of smell looping though the nasal passages. Beyond the stink dispersing from my colleague’s relief release from the chair above me, nothing out of the ordinary.

Fourthly, there is sound. From here, I can hear the irregular heartbeat of the road as the night traffic accelerates and stops as hairless toms caterwaul to janes on the sidewalks. There is the occasional siren and squeal, a hairless tall newborn crying nearby, an occasional large dog variety calling something out to a friend. Again, same-same for the hour.

The fifth sense is touch comprising many aspects of weight, heat, solidity and humidity. I can feel the weight of my own front paw draped over the edge of the other leg at the wrist, feel hair touch hairtip as my breath expands my skin and closes in again fanning fur open and shut, open and shut. I sense the patterns of heat and cool move across the window with the wind.

From my 6th sense I gather my sightlines I judge the wind outside as 12 km/h, and study the way the shadows move through the plants outside the glass, observe the lights that come on as someone moves through a tall structure across the air space and the hunter who prowls about 600 metres away trying to intercept the man on the corner. I doubt they can see each other yet considering they can only see about 1/6 of what I can under this 3/4 moon. I thank Mror for my eyes, old but not yet rheumy. See how good I can do? http://videoforcats.com/catvision.htm

This brings to mind the 7th and 8th senses, I realize my immediate surroundings and sense of direction respectively. This is judged two ways, immediately from my whisker distance, internally from my sense of balance and relative to immediate structures.

I judge my position more broadly in the global sense of space, namely, my relation to gravity and sky and magnetic north. I’m facing south-south-east, 77 degrees. I am 210 moors of gravity from sea level and the unit of distance triagulated from magnetic north is harder to translate because this language does not have the units or concept. I will pass just now.

The 9th and final sense of emotional wellness is hard to translate. Tibetan comes close to vocabulary for the number of subtle states of being but my translation can barely approach a reasonable approximation with Shamatha of abiding peacefulness. I feel my inner eyelids sliding in to cover me for dream travel just now.

Miao for now

En route back to my nap, I walk over their legs — they use them too, just not just now so I can.
I observe how much easier it is to navigate if the subjects wear form-hugging garments than these draped sheets. Walking over blanketed legs is like walking on straw. Good mental perceptual exercise mind you to gingerly pick my way across the seemingly flat uniform surface.

You never know where there is less dense pocket and a foot slips deeper than expected marring my otherwise shadowy liquid movement. One mistep and as in a haymow, my shoulder jars as my foot drops unexpected and a moth will shoot out to be caught with my remaining teeth and crunch all that floury and wet goodness…

Sorry, got lost in that metaphor.
Where was I? …moth (lick), …straw, ….walking, ….blankets and dresses, yes….it’s hard to judge just where the flesh ends and the gap between the body parts begins and, excuse me, I’m overdue for my nap.

May Cattess Mror keep your purrs and fur in good order!

The subjects are on holidays. Judging from street traffic changes, it’s a general holiday not just a day off. Even the hairless tall’s catnip store (LCBO for Alcohol) is closed! That doesn’t happen often. Usually it seems the whole of simian lines are in that queue!

A holiday for them works out well. There’s a sumptious concoction of perfumed food around this morning — eggs, butter, *and* cheese. My nose bridge has been getting quite a workout! Does my muzzle look more muscular yet?

Oooh! cheese. And nibble for me. more? yes? yes? yes? no. they ate it. Ah well. I had been due to jaunt through the perimeter surveillance and go to groom my colleague. While there, she’ll regale me with stories she had of the mouser field dimension as I tidy up her ears. I won’t mention the cheese. What am I? Do I look like a seagull?

Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Cat minds big noises and watches for cheese to appear.

Sometimes I think I am too hard on my colleague. She is after all besot with health conditions between her heart murmer, hyperthyroidism, being a possible carrier of FIV from her time semi-feral in barns, [tests negative as it turns out], fraternizing in the wild life, her neurosis of sudden movements or sounds, (still shellshocked from her last couple of assignment homes).

She’s frankly a mess and yet she manages to send her reports to the collective as well as I do and makes far more attempts than yours truly to vocally communicate. Each evening and morning she tirelessly assails the air with her reports of all that has transpired in the day to Sandy and Whatshisname.

Maybe considering all that I will rise above competition, events and ideas to greater soulness and won’t attack her in her foetelled sleep with a claw to the nose, today.

Well, Ok the trip wasn’t intended as a conference but we, sir, are opportunists in the best sense.

This species cohort and I quickly set about exchanging field notes.

It seems she stays with this male and female hairless talls as well as 2 hairless kits and the aforementioned cocker spaniel. As I related my assigned hosuehold’s demographics as my colleague fell into a micronap from stress. Her damp toe pads were pressed to my side.

Our individual reports will of course all eventually be made public but how much better this, with all the anecdotes, partial coloring and asides that I can do real time with a colleague.

But, company and catnip notwithstanding, it was still the vet’s. I’ll bet that this one notices the worrying thyroid lump. I’m sure its nothing.

[psychically mo-blogged]

As I tore my mind away from the catnip embued air I twiched at the heady in a different way scent of a very very very friendly cocker spaniel who seemed to want to make our acquaintance. To his credit he didn’t yip just wiggled his hips and tail stump in the univeral come and play fashion. Being otherwise occupied behind bars we politely declined his perky offer.

The door opened again to bring in the several thousand sub-scents of the outdoor esters and gases and grasses and..

Ooh. “Nice to make your acquaintence” I telelinked. She was a proud, young kitten, no more than 2 litter’s age into life. Give or take a few years and a few more kgs she was the same appearance as my colleague but of a sweeter nature.

Her name, from the Hairless talls was most peculiarly the same as well. Could it be a broad pattern? Are the hairless talls capable of such organization? Coincidence I thought to myself in a hidden part of my brain tucked away from the new acquaintence in her “carrier”. Luckily she couldn’t see the furrowed part of my forehead hair.

At the back of my brain as I reeled off my data and stories, part of me was left contending with the conundrum: Did they name all white felines the same? Truly I haven’t worked with a white colleague before now myself. I have no basis to judge. Something to tuck and away and ponder and observe for.

[psychically mo-blogged]

Upon arriving at the clinic, upon leaving the load rumbling transport mechanism, there was a sumptious array of air currents that set our noses pumping. The season is turning to fall and all the excitement of voles running underneath the leaf litter. My heart sped at the thought and I could feel my own pupils dialating. What stimulus for dreams this has been already!

Upon entering we discovered that an entirely different philosophy of management. There was no nose-numbing level of anti-septic and industrial cleaners. There was a faint smell in the air of catnip and kibble. for a moment I was disoriented into thinking that they had broight us to choose our kibble for ourselves. A taste test shopping trip perhaps…

[psychically mo-blogged]

I knew that this trip was coming. My colleague had already happened upon the “carrier” out in the hall and with a few glances to and fro from face to plastic box inferred from the guilty look that it was not a mere closet cleaning.

Our suspicions were confirmed when one of the resident hairless toms came back from his rounds early and proceded to carry my colleague. This is, by tacit agreement on all sides, not done. Some of us like to have our feet suspected from terra firma, others of us are more terrified firmly when such an event occurs.

She had already huddled hidden behind a column but the window behind her gave away her position through close inspection and reflection. rats! I was to be next. Not that I mind a good physical. But for appearance sakes, one must put up something of a show.

I first made a foil of myself of being purrrfect complacency and naitivity with being carried about then, upon cue of seeing the carrier stepped into my next role of conscientious objector. I did an impressive spreadeagled protest even my toes stretched out to stop being put into the “carrier”. Upon being put in I quickly set to work at trying to jimmy the lock as any simian might also do. In short order though the blanket came over us and like being picked up by the scruff of the neck as kittens, it had a disquietingly quieting effect.

[psychically mo-blogged]

Computers are handy for exploring the world. There’s no denying that.

The laptop models however are a poor substitute for gum stimulator compared to a good novel though. The laptop won’y keep its lid at a siff useful angle but the novel in hand keeps being adjusted for optimal angle.

Further to the dichotomy, the novel can leave the lap free and one hand free for me whereas that one eyed unblinking stare of a machine reflecting back the user in it’s dark pupil may take up both hands and both legs. What a gluttony of petting cuddling resources.

The hairless talls must have a spine with different kinesthetic and mechanical properties than mine. for illustration, when I am using the lap and the mechanical lap top bleeps for attention and she uses it, she can go an extended periods without a good spine curl stretch. What kinks I would have if I were to stay still so long!