Full Moon Cletus

Clete and Precious – Weirdness begins – Photo: L. Weikel

Our ‘thinks-he’s-a-badass’ cat, Cletus, is one of those felines who loves you one second and tries to stab you in the eye the next.

Especially around the full moon.

This is unlike Tigger, who comes to me like a puppy when I call, cuddles with me in bed, and honestly seems to adore me most of the time. Even when he’s angry with me, he just flicks his tail in my general direction. Never does retaliation figure in his agenda.Nor does Cletus resemble Precious, who flees from any discord immediately, whether it’s real or imagined, and does not return until we’ve all long forgotten whatever it was that made her bolt to begin with.

In the past day or two, with the approaching full moon, Cletus’s been pulling out all the stops to make me think he might actually love me. OK. Have affection for me.

I’ll admit, it can be intoxicating to have an animal look at me adoringly. And I fall for it each and every time. It’s like Lucy and the football.

Weirdness

So I was skeptical a few days ago when, out of the blue, Cletus started randomly showing up on my usual seat on the couch. In fact, the first morning this usurpation of my space began, I was nearly ready to sound the alarm – for not only was Cletus hanging out where I usually sit – so was Precious. And they were sleeping beside each other!

This was some seriously anomalous behavior.

I will eat you and your young! Photo: L. Weikel

Since that initial incident, I’ve witnessed Cletus sleeping deeply on my red backjack a number of times. Today was no exception.

The only difference this morning was that I managed to snap a few photos that capture exactly the volatility of his emotions. And for the record? He did manage to snag me. Yup; he drew blood. Not a lot, but enough. I swear, he never lost his ‘kitten claws.” They’re so sharp, he often nails me and I don’t even realize it until several hours later.

Watch your feline companions tonight, people. Werecats. I’m pretty sure they’re a thing.