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Working conditions in my house, originally uploaded by 160507.

Saffy, my black-orange-and-white cat, is adept at planting and removing things from my bag. She likes extracting hair bands and playing soccer with them all over the house. Once, at a meeting, I reached into my bag to get my notebook and found the TV remote control Saffy had hidden there. I’m lucky there are no mice in my apartment, or she might enclose a souvenir. (Note: If your cats bring you dead mice, roaches, or other things they’ve killed, be sure to act pleased. They are offering it to you as a gift. On the other hand, there was a time when Koosi would “kidnap” small stuffed animals and drop them in the toilet bowl. Was she drowning them, or studying buoyancy?)

Whenever Saffy wishes to make known that I have been neglecting her, she scratches up a book. Somehow she always chooses a favorite book—can she detect my scent on the paper?—and shreds the dust jacket. For maximum effect, she does this while I am watching.