being different

I often joke about Ramona not knowing how to be cat. I feel like she kind of tries to be, but isn't quite successful. First off of course is her hunting skills, because it's just so bad, but boy does she still try. I've mentioned her hiding is terrible, because I think she doesn't fully understand what it means to hide. She also though has quite an interesting technique in attack. When she's playing with a rubber band, her favorite type of toy and also snack, she swats it around and then pounces on it all leading to the final move where she stands on her back legs, shrugging her shoulders with front legs extended and paws clasping together to try and capture the rubber band in between them, before tumbling down and twitching all over the floor. I'm not actually sure if this is a common move for cats, but normal or not, she actually fails at it quite often. Sometimes she fails to actually capture the rubber band and recently I saw her do a somersault while trying to grab it. Hunting something living is beyond her. I've seen her stare at birds flying above her as she watches with sad eyes and gives a disappointed meow as she extends her paw up reaching for the impossible. Her attempt at climbing a tree came to an end when she reached a spot no longer wanting to go higher and she just looked around like it was complete craziness. She doesn't really even have friends because I don't think she knows how to play with others, there's good intention in her eyes but the other cats just feel attacked and threaten by her, and often I just have to try and stop her because she won't give them peace when they need it. Of course sometimes she does intentionally attack others because she can be a bully, but that's only sometimes. What I mean to get from all this, is well, she's weird, but I love her for her quirks.

Weird-Bird

Birds are flyin' south for winter.

Here's the Weird-Bird headin' north,

Wings a-flappin', beak a-chatterin',

Cold head bobbin' back 'n' forth.

He says, "It's not that I like ice

Or freezin' winds and snowy ground.

It's just sometimes it's kind of nice

To be the only bird in town."

I felt this poem by Shel Silverstein was appropriate because, though it doesn't talk about a cat different from other cats, it talks about a bird that's different. That "Weird-Bird" goes north instead of south, unlike the rest of the birds because it likes to be the only of its kind in an area. I see this as one enjoying the feeling of not having any others like one around being able to feel almost special. Being different brings one to stand out and gives the feeling of being an own individual. Being different brings others to love and appreciate one, like I do with Ramona.

Works Cited

Silverstein, Shel. "Weird-Bird." Famous Poets and Poems. N.p. n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.