Easily hooked

Loki looks into my eyes, “Meow.” He turns a circle and paws my leg.

“Oh, Loki Toes.”

Eye contact, and he begins to walk toward his bedroom door. “Meow?” He paws the bedroom door, “Meow?”

“OK, baby.”

We walk in, and he circles his special towel. His meows increase, and he paces, pawing the towel eagerly. He never disengages eye contact.

“Meow?”

I look at the plastic tub. He knows where it is and what I’ve just done—“Meow!”

I gauge that there is maybe a pinch and a half left. “But Loki, this is it.”

“Meow!” he cries as he paws the towel.

I open the tub and think of his original owner. I drop a generous pinch of catnip on the towel. “You are just like your mother,” I say as I stroke his back. I love him anyway.