Supreme Cat & Coon: A Transformative Tale in Italy

At first, I thought she was a raccoon.

It wasn't so much her look that gave it away, although it helped. Her eyes were a little too wide, and her hair was a bit too red for her to pass for anything else. But really, it was the way she moved that made me sure. She swaggered like a raccoon, with purpose and confidence. The way she pushed through the crowd without giving anyone space enough to brush against her showed that she knew everyone would give her room. The way she smiled down at everyone who looked up at her as if they were beneath her.

That's what raccoons do: they walk around like they own the place, and everyone gives them space because of it. That's why I hated them when I lived in Toronto - they'd move into your garden or under your porch and make you feel like you didn't belong there anymore. No self-respecting cat would let an animal like that get by with that kind of behaviour!

And yet...she reminded me of something else, too. Something more serious, more dignified.

I sat on the bench nearest to where the woman walked down the street, watching her steady gait and wondering how long it had been since I'd seen someone walk like that - not hurrying along to get somewhere, but just walking for the sake of walking, letting gravity take its course and trusting your feet to know where to land next. It had been a long time since I'd seen anyone walk like that; we cats are more low-to-the-ground creatures these days, always looking out for cars or humans who could hurt us. We cats don't have time to watch our steps any more - we have lives to live and people to annoy!

The woman stopped in front of a Starbucks, then turned towards me and stared right at me with those wide raccoon eyes of hers. Her gaze was intense - not quite human, but not quite animal either; there was something in there that spoke of intelligence beyond what I expected from most humans these days, but there was something else that spoke of a purity of emotion that couldn't be found in any cat I knew. And yet she still seemed so familiar...like we should know each other from somewhere...but I couldn't remember where!

"You're staring," said a voice from behind me, jolting me out of my reverie and causing me to jump up in surprise. When had *he* gotten here?

I quickly turned around to see a small black cat sitting on the bench behind mine. He looked remarkably similar to me - same breed (long haired Egyptian Mau), same colouring (black with white paws), same deep brown eyes...even the same expression on his face: one brow raised quizzically as he looked at me curiously.

"I'm sorry!" I said quickly (although why did I need to apologise? That was still unclear). "I didn't mean to stare."

"Obviously." The black cat rolled his eyes before turning back towards the woman who was still staring at me intently from across the street (was this the person he'd meant?). "So...who is this?"

"What do you mean?"

The black cat gestured vaguely towards the woman before answering himself: "Well...is she yours?"

"Of course not!" My whiskers flared indignantly as my tail curled upwards in annoyance. "I'm not some sort of...cat-strayer or whatever you called it."

The black cat smirked at my insult before scooting closer towards me until he was pressed against my side. "You know what I mean," he whispered conspiratorially into my ear while gently poking my side with one white paw; "you don't go home with every cute girl you see." He grinned slyly as my cheeks flushed red; did he have to keep reminding me?! "So...who is this?" he repeated as he turned back towards the woman again (hadn't he heard anything I said?!).

*This time*, however, his question went unanswered as another voice broke our conversation apart: "Excuse me," said a man dressed in black standing next to our bench holding coffee in both hands; "does this corner belong to you two?"

At least now I knew where all this 'harem' nonsense had started!

"No," replied the black cat politely before turning back towards me again; "do you think it does?" His tone was teasing this time so I couldn't tell if he was actually asking for my opinion or teasing me again because of what happened with Rebecca...and judging by his smirk he knew exactly what I thought about cat-strayers!