Ever wondered why pushy cats make a B line for people who don’t like them?
I remember when I was very little, my mom took me to visit an eccentric relative of hers  who lived alone with about fifty moggies in an old house, slap bang in middle of the poshest neighborhood in town. Couzzie had no idea there was a world outside her crumbling walls, nor did she know that cars and telephones had been invented since her abdication from society.

There were many things I clearly remember about that day, one of which was her cats’ indoor toileting arrangements which was anywhere. I also remember the old lady saying, the more she knew people, the better she liked her cats - a brilliant comment I thought, which has stuck.

I was told Couzzie’s food was courtesy of charitable handouts while her cats dined on big fat rats and large cockroaches which were also tenants.

Mean moggies

But more clearly, I remember sitting down on a sagging arm chair to be assailed upon by an army of mean looking moggies! When you’re very small and the place is very dark and choked with dust, a one cat ambush is scary enough, let alone three of the beasts!
“Move, that’s their chair!”
I leapt onto the floor and sat down when suddenly out of the shadows appeared two enormous fire orbs set on furry legs with its compass set squarely on me.
“Just relax or he’ll hurt you!” and I froze as the Bengal Tiger settled himself on my lap and begun to growl contentedly under his breath while kneeding my baby flesh with his killer talons.

In retro, I believe this was an act of feline revenge and I have the scars to prove it.  But was it because I was nervous of him or because I was a soft target, or could it have been because I was allergic to cat dander?

As I grew up and got to love and trust cats I’d often invite my friends’ kitties over for a lap dance …  but never a sausage!
Every cat since would slant its eyes, twitch its whiskers and walk away from me in disgust!

But back Couzzie, who eventually died leaving a small fortune, stashed away in the ceiling, which she bequeathed for the sole upkeep of her beloved cats. Yes, she did have pushy cats but I wonder if these mysterious creatures don’t all have hidden agendas ?