Do you want to see?

Do you want to see? was born when I brought my very first fosters home. They were two tiny black kittens in a carrier. I sat them on top of my washer so I could show my dogs slowly without overwhelming anyone. Well Neville has always had an immaculate sense of smell. He smelled them almost instantly and wanted to see them immediately. In this way he learned to look up to study his environment. This evolved to me asking him if he wanted to see. He has always been the best communicator, so if he wanted to see he’d stand at attention right next to me ready to be picked up so he could see whatever it was. If he didn’t want to see it, he’d back up from me and wouldn’t stand in the ready posture.

Over time, I learned to ask him often if he wanted to see. He’d ask too by looking up at what he wanted to see and looking over at me. Sometimes he’d even scratch at the base of whatever it was. I would take him to see all sorts of things on the counters and higher surfaces in our house. He even asked outside of our house. At his primary care, he knew sometimes they had foster neonate kittens on the counter and so he’d ask me every single time we went to check the counter. He had a fantastic memory. He always knew exactly where the treats were and would ask very insistently for me to get him one. His ability to learn, explore his world and communicate with and understand me always astounded me.