WotD: Cat Vocabulary I

y gath "cat"
y cwrcath, y cwrcyn "tomcat"
y gath fenyw "she-cat"
pws fach "puss puss!"
y côt "coat"
brych "tabby"
trilliw "tortoiseshell"
y cwt, y gynffon "tail"
y bawen "paw"
y wisgeren "whisker"
mint(ys) y gath "catnip"
y cibl "kibble"
y blwch tywod "sandbox"
mewian "mewing"
oernadu, gwrcatha "caterwauling"
hepian "catnapping"
disbaddu/ysbaddu "spaying"
llech-hela "stalking"
canu grwndi/crwth "purring"
anwesu "petting"

Two men and a baby

Crazy day. My original plan had been to slip away for dim sum with chums I haven't seen in ages, but that got scotched pretty effectively. The first obstacle was the weather. By the time I logged on to check it and saw "4% chance of precipitation", it had already been snowing for two hours. I'm used to thinking of "lake effect snow" as more of a meteorological curiosity than an actual weather event, but there was enough coming down to--in combination with the blustery winds--make the outdoors distinctly inhospitable.

But I pride myself on not being a winter wimp and was even beginning to savour the camaraderie that comes with braving blizzard conditions to be together when I stumbled upon a much greater obstacle: The snuggle factor. I've climbed into bed with monshu for his midday nap innumerable times and still managed to abscond when I needed to, but those moments lacked the balance-tipping effects of kitty cuteness. Even with the cat curled up between us, I might still have broken away if not for the Old Man's fatal choice of making a little cave with the covers and wrapping his arms around his little feline treasure. It was like being flogged senseless with a whip made of braided cotton candy. SO CUTE.

Besides, I didn't want to miss little junior's first steps into the great wide world of the whole apartment. We initially had him cooped up in the master bedroom suite, which was already a world of his own twice the size of the one he'd been sharing with eight or nine other cats. It took a half-hour of coaxing just to get him to come upstairs and even discovering his food relocated there wasn't enough to prevent him from retreating under the bed for an afternoon catnap. (Have no fear, treacle fans, There Will Be Photos.) So much for the fantasy of completing that winsome portrait of last weekend; instead, we popped a DVD in thinking he'd be more likely to pad out and join us if we were only in the next room. Alas, no competing with the allure of curling up in a four poster bed.

But when Diego and Uncle Betty arrived at the door a couple hours later, he was there to great them briefly before continuing to explore all the new sights and smells. monshu put together a simple St David's Day feast of salmon in black bean sauce, white beans with sage, gratin of artichokes and (at my insistence!) leeks, and fresh pineapple stewed with rum and served with custard sauce. We also busted out the white Muga we stumbled across on a booze-buying trip and found it quite interesting. Between courses, I edged out into the hallway to check on our whiskered adventurer and at one point got embarrassingly enthusiastic when I saw him sitting on the windowsill precisely where the GWO had cleared a space for him.

Now the guests are gone, the dishwasher is drying, and the domestic beast is nowhere to be seen. I assume he's joined our snoring chef and is sprawled out either at the foot of the bed or underneath it. Another work week begins tomorrow, and here I sit, in no hurry to see this beautiful day end.