Simon's Cat + My Cat

   Seeing Atom so sick has me reminiscing about his kitten-hood. I'm a huge fan of the "Simon's Cat" animated series, as the creator clearly understands feline behavior and illustrates it in a spectacularly simple way, to great effect. There was a new release this week, and it has me both laughing out loud and crying, because it so reminds me of introducing Gypsy to her new diminutive roommate—and the love-hate relationship with which they (and probably all cats) began.
   Kittens are inherently funny, and Atom was no exception. One specific incident: when I first brought him home, he was SO tiny. But he defined "small but mighty." Kelly, who was with me when I got him, had come over to visit him. He picked Atom up and was holding him up to his face, playing with him and teasing him and sticking his nose right in Atom's face. Atom playfully purred and growled and squirmed. Then suddenly he reeled back and popped Kelly in the face, sending his glasses flying across the room. For a second we were horrified because we were afraid the glasses were toast. But they were fine, and we couldn't stop laughing.