My Cat, RC

RC. I am her human. She is my cat.
She has a proper name of “Reya Sunshine.”
A program friend shared with me… She calls my cat RC. 
I asked, “RC?” She said, “Recovery Cat.” 

A tabby with green eyes! Beautiful to look at, lovely to hold.
Little did I know that “green eyes” is an outward expression 
of Bengal cat lineage in her family tree. 

She is the most loving and lovely cat I have ever had the pleasure to know.
She also has instinctual behaviors that have been passed down from HER relatives…

She loves to sit on the bathroom counter in the dark, 
and gently paw me as I go by, middle of the night, in the dark…

I was putting things into the fridge once, bent over at the waist…
She jumped on my back, holding on tight with all her claws… 
I close the bedroom door to gently separate us when I bring groceries in. 
Twice was enough for this…

I had a leather couch she used to ride, like it was a gazelle in a full-out run…
Or she would fly by the back of this couch, with claws extended, 
digging in as she flew past this “live thing.” 

Depending on her mood, she plays rock, paper, scissors, with her claws… 
She walks ON me at night… I move her over, seems to be instinctive, not changing.

If I walk fast, she is between my feet or under them, a tripping hazard…
She gets me to slow down and lean into moderation. 

In the past, she has mistaken my legs for a tree, when standing. 
Now I know at any nearness to my legs, when I’m standing, 
to gently redirect her away… 

On the couch, she runs UP me to get to the top of the chair…
where she hangs out, nourished by being close. 

When I had an aquarium on the kitchen counter, and would forget to close the lid,
I would find her “going fishing!”!

She watches TV, especially with cats on TV, she used to go behind the TV looking for them… 
And she watches “Kitty TV” in the form of freshwater fish in my aquariums. 

She jumps, easily, and gracefully, from a good distance from my favorite chair, 
precisely to the back or arm of the chair I am in. Always a surprise! 

She is a “thinking cat.” She sets boundaries with ME.
She will gently nibble me when I have petted her too long, or when something feels unsafe. 
“Don’t do that!” “Please, No!” “No Thank you!” “That is enough!” 

She loves to melt into my side when I am on my computer,
and has recently begun rolling over to be “tummy-up!” 
Learning to trust, to let go, to enjoy…

And she loves to lean into my side when I am reading before sleep. 
A kitty massage of sorts, with her purring beside me. 
Belonging. She matters. I matter.

She likes to spread herself across me, from shoulder to shoulder 
in the morning, stretched out happily, purring loudly, 
with one paw reaching across almost to my other shoulder.
I am her human, and she is my kitty. 

Once I wake up, she gently settles in on my shoulder or across shoulders
and gives me a purr bath, my morning meditation time. 
I am her human, and she is my kitty.