Cats regard it as bad manners to stare at them. They get into a hissy fit, snarl, protest your rudeness, turn their heads away from your gaze, then high tail it when stared at.

I try to mind my cat manners with Andy and Dougy. It promotes harmony in the home. Besides, unlike the boys when one upsets the other by “staring rudely”, I can’t run fast enough to catch the miscreant! (Or run away if I’m staring rudely…..)

That said, I felt a presence a moment ago. I turned to my left, and there was Andy, stretched out on my old computer chair, staring rudely at me. How dare he!

“What’s up, kittycat? Forget your manners?” I asked my boy. I put a double rudeness stare back on Andy just in case he missed my point. He blinked, turned his head away.

“Woo hoo!” I proclaimed moments before I did my staring rudely victory dance. “I beat you at your own game, buster. Stare at me, and I’ll stare at you till our eyeballs dry out. Yeah!” (I did a fist pump to emphasize the victory.)

Andy has no sense of humor and an over-sensitive nature. The staring rudely contest was fun while he did it, but not so when I returned the rude down: He got up and ran into the kitchen.

“I’m just a kitty…” I thought I heard him say. “Meany!”

Now I feel bad. I’ll go out to the kitchen and give him some Greenies, the boys’ favorite treat! (Dougy must have read my mind. He just walked over and gave me a tail brush, his way of letting me know he expects some sort of service. Or treat!)