today i found shubie curled up on the clothes basket. i suppose as i stopped nearby i woke him up because he was next sitting on the small end table and making such caterwahling that i just couldnt stand it anymore and shooed him out.
he must’ve thought that i’d help him with my foot cause he zoomed out. but as soon as he’d cleared the door he slowed down to a nonchalant slow stroll.. as if he had never been in a hurry.

update: shubie did it again. he was sitting on top the little table. mewing for my attention. so i get up. and misjudging what i was going to do he slips behind the upended indoor exercise equipment.
must be he thought i was going to get physical. :D

so i raise my voice in a nice coaxing tone so he can feel safe to get out the door that i held open for him.

that shubie. tsk. tsk. [>>>

this reminds me of another time when he played the cool calm cat.

the hunter’s craft
summer 2004

rson came home with “take home” from the restaurant in the town square, so i called in our cats.
shubie was front and center, casually walking in. (earlier he’d been in, pawing at the laudry closet. i opened the door for him. he inspected it for possibilities of a hiding place to get away from dibey. {{nix it. the obnoxious brat’s watching}}.
so shubie goes all non chalant, pretending that he isn’t interested and wants outside.)

so while shubie is standing there just inside the door i’m calling dibey to come in. he’s ignoring me.
(i can’t blame him. he was only allowed out late today because i had to clean away a mouse shubie had brought as an offering that by my calculation must of been put there quite early.. it was not noticed so it got run over when myhb driving and i riding along, backed out of the garage to go to work at 4 -5AM.
and the offering remained unnoticed when i got back.. and finally later when i intended to allow dibey out to play i noticed.. but only because shubie was lying right next to it on the garage floor.

well.. before i could let dibey outside.. i had to get out the broom and sweep the flattened mouse away then use industrial cleaner to wash away evidence of the poor.. ahem.. mouse.)

later.. while i was calling dibey to come in, shubie decided to go back out, then turn and come in again.
what’s this, a plea for attention?
so he stood for some proper petting, then he opted to go back out.

i stood at the door and watched as he went to the side edge of our driveway and gazed across the west-facing part of our yard.
then, his gaze peeked, he went into stalking position.

another mouse?, a rabbit, a neighbor feral cat?
i walked out stealthily to watch the scene unfold as shubie slowly moved in toward the prey.
sensing there was a possible fresh kill, a thrilling chase.. dibey gently jumped out from under the large iris leaves to join in the hunt - adapting his best crouch for the imitation of shubie’s suprise spring on the intended prey.

i stayed back not wanting to ruin shubie’s moment of triumph in front of his padawan learner.
which meant that my view was blocked by a discarded broken water heater.

the moment increased in intensity as suddenly..

a spring - a leap forward.
followed by an alarmed yelp from the victim.

i grimaced. but dibey had to learn these things if he was going to be an indoor/outdoor cat like shubie.
besides its what all that practice dibey has constantly done at wrestling & biting our feet had been for. i knew that our pains had finally not been in vain.

but wait. shubie had leaped from behind the water heater and landed in the grass some two feet away.
shubie quickly regained his composure as if to say.

“i meant to do that.”

and the triumphant hunter, dibey, was scooped up and brought inside.