My cat Monika seems perfectly sweet--fuzzy, gray, eager to be petted, with large soulful eyes that conjure visions of motel room art.
Delmar, of course, is Psycho Kitty--wiry, large, prone to rage.
But Monika has something Delmar doesn't--a sense of Zen Cool worthy of James Coburn. Coburn, at least in his movies (and I like to think in real life, too) could be as big a bad ass as anybody, and could pretty much take anybody down. But he preferred the path of enlightenment, to give his potential adversary the Look that said, "You really don't want to mess with me."
Monika, despite the sweet soulful eyes, is perfectly capable of delivering the Look. But does Delmar ever learn? Of course not. He's all the time up in Monika's face, trying to start something, and Monika just sits there. Del stays at it, until Monika shifts her weight and fixes him with the Look. Del hesitates briefly, then keeps it up, going in, starting to attack.
One well-placed thwack later, Delmar is scurrying away with a pathetic whimper, while Monika sits, confident, quiet, cool. I like to think she's meditating, but she is, after all, a cat, so chances are she's just thinking about tuna. But still...
