The Elusive Sage Cat

     Given my background, I am undoubtedly thrilled that Laura loves animals. 
Her little face lights up when she sees our dogs first thing in the morning, and she lets out a short, happy shriek (because, hey, seeing our two giant, prancing mounds of fur after 11 hours of sleep is pretty exciting stuff at 7:30AM.) She also gets like this when we go to my mom's. Before my mom's two yappy dogs are even in sight, Laura can hear them barking at us, and that is enough to send her into Ecstatic Squealing Mode. 
     However, none of this compares to the pleasure she gets from catching but a glimpse of our cat, Sage. Our darling kitty will be seven this spring, and by now is wise enough to know that babies must be avoided at all costs. Even if it means starvation. (Just kidding, Sage wouldn't let anything get in the way of eating.) If Laura so much as hears a peep      - or a meow, as the case may be - from Sage, she toddles as fast as her little legs can carry her over to the laundry room door (which Sage is on the other side of) and uses her underdeveloped animal language to communicate that she is more than willing to come and play. Sage, of course, immediately bolts for it if she detects Miss Happy Shrieks stomping her way over. If Laura does happen to catch a glimpse of fleeting fur, her pleasure centre goes into overdrive and blissful, flailing caws and squawks ensue. 

before Sage wised up

Being the fairly simple-minded being that Laura currently is, she just can't comprehend why this intriguing sensory-board-of-an-animal is unwilling to play with her (and by 'play with her', I mean 'let her pull on every appendage and fur from miscellaneous body parts while also being bounced upon and/ or climbed over). Everyone and everything else in The World As Laura Knows It is. Poor Sage. 
     As was demonstrated to me this afternoon, all of Laura's wanting-what-you-can't-have has led to an absolute infatuation with cats. It was the first time I have ever seen her pay any attention to a book. I read to Laura every day, and every day she goes about playing with her toys as if no story is being read with Great Expression and Enthusiasm in the background. But today, we were down in the playroom, and she purposely chose a picture book off the shelf that was about animals. I opened it and was pointing out all the different animals and the noises they make (we've been working on this, at this time she thinks all animals say 'moo'), and when we got to the page about kittens, she totally lit up and let out her signature animal-voice shriek. When we had gone through all the pages, she was still paying attention (:o) and wanted to turn the pages back to the one with the kittens, and poke them accordingly. 
     I really hope that Laura maintains her love for and fascination with animals as she grows up; they can bring such joy to life, as she obviously already knows. ♥