Don't you wonder what they're thinking when you do that? "Oh, geez, here we go again..." I often wonder what they think when I do something goofy.

Yeah, they are thinking, "fool asshole humans!"

LOL! when Otto's all lazy sleepy sprawled on his bed I'll lay on him & kiss his whiskers a billion times & then say triumphantly, "I kissed yer dots! I kissed yer dots!"

When I walk by my kitty and she meows expectantly at me, I announce "I'm gonna SCOOP you!" and then scoop her up in my arms. Which she hates but tolerates.

Sometimes if she's being bad I ask "Do you need to be SCOOPED??" as a threat.

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That pug looks worried.

I'll do sneak attack belly rubs; all the cats, except Mingo, hate belly rubs. And I'll scoop up Oliver and hold him like a baby, which he tolerates as long as I keep walking around. Stop walking or sit down, prepare for one wriggly cat.

We turn Belly Rubs into Puppy Rockets which she haaaaates.

Also there's this little bit of hair on top of Olive's nose that sticks up and curves out a bit, like a horn. She doesn't like us touching it, so we'll of course spend hours trying to grab it.

Naming him "Spanky", to begin with. Although formally it's "Spaulding", and his Norwegian name is "Thorvald".

Singing "Alouette" when grooming him, but particularly when gently tugging at the fur on his velvety pate to remove the loose hairs. "Je te plumerai la tête! Je te plumerai la tête..."

Opening the front door for a brief, delicious breath of freedom... a few moments before a freight train comes thundering down the track just outside.

In my family, we don't scoop, but we do Flip the Cat. Should anyone but my father attempt this, Cat deploys tooth and claw until he can squirm free. But when Dad does it, Cat gazes up at him with love. "My son," Dad will say, walking around and showing him off like a baby in church.

But in general, a cat bearing a grudge is just too amusing to keep one from attempting to provoke it-- the only thing for which I really hope he forgives me is letting him get sick last year.