If I Like You, You’ll Know

Feline Tendencies

courtney ruth
2 min readOct 23, 2020

“I’m like a cat,” I told him one evening. “I open up slowly. If I like you, you’ll know.”

At the time, I was unaware of how accurate this was.

When I was six, we lived next door to Wesley, a fat striped grey cat. The neighbors lamented how Wesley would leave dead birds or vermin at their doorstep. They said it meant that he liked them — a twisted gift.

Growing up we had two cats. One of them, a Siamese, used to howl downstairs in the middle of the night. It was almost as if she forgot where she was. Her late-night antics were unbecoming, but she was a good cuddler with her “chosen people.” Thankfully, I was one of them.

At 13, I found a cat in some shrubbery near our house. I abandoned my bike and walked him all the way home. Pikachu clawed several times in a misguided attempt to escape. My mom told me that we couldn’t keep him. Two cats were enough. Luckily for me, the neighbors adopted him.

Pikachu left a mangled creature by our door once. I knew what that meant. He liked us.

When Pikachu died, the neighbors adopted another cat. Unfortunately, it ran away the same day that it arrived. We never could find it, but another cat waltzed into their lives. Citty (ki·tee), a Maine Coon. I loved him, but I didn’t love how he would bite my ankles. I could never swing with my feet dangling over the edge.

I babysat for a family that had an exotic shorthair, a flat-face cat who snorted for air. He was orange and I was always covered in cat hair. I couldn’t wear my favorite color when I babysat, all black.

Last summer, I moved into a new neighborhood. Clyde, the neighborhood cat, knows what he wants. He comes running for love but pauses to stretch just before he reaches you. It’s almost as if he likes making you wait. It annoys me.

I see myself in all these felines.

I’m not afraid to run toward love, but sometimes I pause before making contact. I don’t bite ankles, but I enjoy keeping people on their toes. And if you are one of “my people”, I’ll show you. Probably in the form of a gift. I’ll send you a postcard or drop by with ice cream — my version of a love offering.

Not everyone can see the gift for what it is. Thoughtful. A simple expression of care. I guess not everyone was fortunate enough to live next to Wesley.

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courtney ruth
courtney ruth

Written by courtney ruth

Co-founder of KOYA Innovations. Samba admirer. Prosecco lover. Adventure enthusiast. On a mission to make Thursdays everyone's favorite day of the week!

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