Often I consider myself just a large human scratching post for my young furry charges. But sometimes our relationship deepens in a significant way. Like this morning. There I was sitting reading the sports section, as is my ritual. And the kittens were performing their usual morning routine –running up and down my legs. When suddenly they stopped and glanced over my shoulder. Something had clearly grabbed their attention.
The basketball scores from last night? Hardly. It was a story about the Chicago Blackhawks being forced to reconsider their name by aboriginal people who found the depiction of the logo and the name Blackhawks, racist and demeaning. Rooney thoughtfully patted the image of Bobby Hull with his paw. Rufus uttered a deep and soulful , “Ek!” Clearly this story had real resonance for the boys. But why stop there, they seemed to suggest, as they stared at me accusingly. What about all the sports teams that carelessly appropriated cats names as their team nicknames? I was seized by a sudden vision of Rooney with little cat reading glasses on, seated behind a table in a courtroom launching a class action law suit against the Detroit Lions, the Florida Panthers, the Charlotte Bobcats and the Detroit Tigers (wait, Detroit has 2 offending team names!) “Ek”, he says solemnly into the microphone. People in the courthouse nod in agreement – ya, why should humans be allowed to use cat names in a brazen and disrespectful manner for their stupid sports teams?!!! Right then, Rufus inserted a razer sharp claw into my leg. Damn. I’ve got to stop this drinking first thing in the morning, I thought.