Belly flop

Our cat Molly is unusual, to say the least. She's smart; you can see the wheels turning in her brain when you look her in the eye. She's calculating, weighing her options. This intelligence makes it hard for her to simply play without a plan in mind. I haven't seen her exuberantly chase a string just for the heck of it in years. She sits and analyzes: OK, she thinks, I see the pattern he's moving the string in, and if I wait until now, it will be over there. Then, she jumps for the place the string will be and meets it there. This is a little more kitty intellect than I was used to.

She also isn't a lap sitter any more. Oh, for a few months she would curl up in my husband's lap in bed in the morning (usually falling asleep and resulting in him being late for work because he didn't want to disturb her) but that stopped before she was a year old. Her big affection thing is belly rubs. On the floor. Nowhere else.

This morning, I walked out of the bathroom to find her on her back on the bedroom floor, four feet in the air, looking for all the world like an automobile accident victim. She lay there, not looking at anything in particular, with a resigned air, like "Well, someone will find me eventually and rub my belly." You see, that's her plan. She flops down on the carpet and waits patiently for me to come upon her and join her on the floor for a belly rub. We call it the Belly Flop.

And, she doesn't walk up to you and flop down. No, she just picks a spot, composes herself there, usually on her back, and waits for someone to find her. This is positively the weirdest cat behavior I have ever seen. I try to tempt her to jump up on the bed or couch for cuddle time, but no go. (Sorry, baby, but mama's getting older and floor is awfully far down.) She will not be persuaded. Beds are for sleeping; backs of chairs are for observing the family in case someone goes to the kitchen; couches are not much good for anything. Floors are for petting. Like this.

So, several times a day I join her on the carpet and indulge in a good cuddle and belly rub. Then we lie down in front of the sliding door and discuss the birds in the backyard. It's a good life these cats have.