Buondì.
Gotta be brief today – the world’s ending and I have to get out and watch.
However, there’s just time to meditate a little on the topic of cats, the courtyard where I live being full of them. As well as of cat people (and no, it’s not just ‘ladies’, there are ‘cat guys’, too.)
So what IS it with people and cats?
The black and white tom from across the way, for example (inappropriately named ‘Romeo’ given that he appears to interested solely in food), who appears on my kitchen window sill every single time I’m cooking or eating.
His motivation in seeking me out couldn’t be clearer: when I open the window to try and pet him, he’ll sniff my fingers and, having ascertained that there’s no food being offered this time, won’t hang about. He jumps right back down to ground level again and disappears under a parked car.
Fair enough. The question is, why do I bother to open the window and try to stroke him? Not every time he appears at the window, but often enough to make me question my apparently illogical behavior. This cat does not want to be my friend. His motivation is entirely stomach-based. So why do I bother?
There’s something there, don’t you think? Some instinctive human attraction to cats (if not always the other way around.) I can’t wait to hear club members’ theories, though please do write them as a comment on this article rather than emailing me directly (click here to visit the website, then scroll down to the bottom to comment.) As mentioned, I’m rather busy just now with the corona virus cataclysm.
So anyway, and you’ll probably have guessed this was coming, remember ‘Dante, gatto vagante‘?
That was/is the gripping ebook tale of another black and white feline, and it probably outsold everything else we ever published! Which puzzled us, because here at Club HQ we actually prefer reading stories about people…
Well, today’s the day folks! Finally, we are delighted to present, the further adventures of Dante: ‘Dante, un’altra marachella‘.
What’s a ‘marachella’? A ‘mischief‘, according to WordReference.com…
Dante, the black and white feline protagonist of ‘Dante, gatto vagante‘ is once more out and about, roaming the sestiere of Venice where he lives, his earlier misadventures having faded from memory. These days he always finds his way home, safe and sound, to the loving Anna and a delicious bowl of crunchy ‘croccantini’. So why would today be any different?
Why indeed? Who writes this cover blurb? Oh, it was me… Can’t complain, then.
Anyway, still with the marketing stuff, the new ‘Dante’ is marked down 25% all this week, so get it while it’s hot, and just £5.99. From Monday next, it’ll sell for the usual easy reader ebook price of £7.99.
By the way, if you’d like to retrace Dante’s paw steps by visiting the scenes so vividly immortalised in this new ebook, I hear there are some great bargains to be had in Venice’s holiday rentals market just now. And the city finally seems to have done something about the over-crowding…
Dante, un’altra marachella | Free sample chapter (.pdf) | Catalog
P.S.
OK, I couldn’t resist this.
So what’s the difference between a cat and a relative clause?
(Strictly-speaking this joke refers to one type of relative clause – the non-defining or non-restrictive clause, which this is an example of, because the other type is punctuated differently…)
You don’t know?
One has a pause at the end of its clause, while the other has claws at the end of its paws!
I’m cracking up, here… Corona virus hysteria, maybe.
Need I add?
Need I add that, if you haven’t already done so, you should read and listen to Saturday’s bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news? Besides being totally free, it’s also a guaranteed- corona virus-free zone (we’re fed up of hearing about it.)
A mercoledì.
Janet Lash says
I don’t know the answer to your question but when we took our son and daughter-in-law to Rome for the first time they kept scurrying back to the Torre Argentina to see the feral cats gathered there! Every feline spotted provoked a happy “Ah!” and every ginger one was compared to their moggy at home.
Daniel says
You should try Istanbul, Janet. There are cats everywhere!
Ray Lambert says
Non mi piace i gatti. Preferisco i cani sebbene ho sempre dico non possederei mai uno. A meno che….come si dice “toilet trained” in italiano!
Diane says
Hi Daniel
Just a quick ‘thank you’ for your entertainnig emails and helpful tips. Am enjoying the Dante stories – and loved your joke!
Val Latus says
Dogs have owners, cats have staff.
Once you realise that, it all falls into place!
Nadia cristina Beccaria says
I agree, you have to earn a cat’s respect, once that happens I have found them to be extremely loyal. I go for long walks in the woods with my dog and cat, she is a lot more attentive in keeping close to heel than my dog. I also think that there is an amount of transference, watching them is a form of meditation. I can’t think of another animal that looks more comfortable in their bodies- I struggle to find any one comfortable position for more than a few minutes!
Anne McNeill says
Val, always thought it was “dogs have masters and cats have slaves” By the same token have had,lots of feline pets, such as TC, the Burmese who was more like a dog, and my last 2, Caesar and Nero, who slept together like Yin and Yang. All very affectionate, great foot warmers in bed in the winter but always on the lookout for food, checking their bowls with each pass, just in case ! There was a cat refuge in the square near where I stayed in Rome 2012 and seemed to see them everywhere we stopped in Sicily 2015.
Helen Hensley says
Hi Daniel
I love reading your emails, you have such a wonderful way with words. Also, love the cat joke!!
Grazie mille
Helen Hensley