here is a stray kitten living in my neighborhood.  I know this, because the day before the garbage man come, when the dumpster outside my apartment is bulging with bags, so that the plastic top won’t close properly, this tiny little black and white cat, maybe three months old, appears.  She rummages through the trash looking for victuals, and hiding when people come.

It’s getting cold out.  I don’t want to think about this little cat shivering outside in winter.  I have been trying to draw her out.  But she and I speak very different languages.  I want to pick her up and take her inside, where I think it is safe.  She wants to hide under dumpsters, where she thinks it’s safe.

I went out to the dumpster, under which the cat crouches, armed with a delicious can of wet food, a plate, and a fork.  I set the plate on the ground, close to, but not under, the dumpster.  I took the fork and put a good-sized chunk of food on the plate.  Finally, I tapped the plate with the fork, and then sat back to wait, about a foot and a half away.

The smell of fresh food is almost overwhelming to a cat–but there was a scary, scary person sitting there.  She crept to the edge of the dumpster.  Then she dashed out and started bolting food like a maniac.  When she was almost done, I took the fork, got another piece of food, and slowly, slowly reached out and set it on the plate.

Of course, as soon as my hand reached out, poof!  She was under the dumpster again.  I tapped the plate with the fork, and sit back.

Hm, she thinks.  More food.  She darted back to the plate and started eating canned fish.

Repeat the process–reach out, put food on the plate with a fork, sit back.  Pretty soon, she starts associating the sound of the tap on the fork with the signal that I’m leaning back, so it’s safe for her to come out.  Most importantly, I’m translating from my language into hers:  It is good for you when I reach out.

I didn’t manage to get the cat inside last night.  But at the point when we’d gone through three cans of wet food, I’d managed to move the dish to inches from my feet.  I’d stopped using the fork, and was instead lifting the food with my hands.  And at the very end, I stopped, fingers above the plate.  She came close, sniffed my fingers–and then licked them.  There was a brief moment while we looked in each other’s eyes–and then she realized how close she was, and off she went.

Victory will be mine.

ook, it’s a puppy! Most of the pictures go after the jump so that those who are uninterested in puppies do not need to observe.  Many thanks to all my wonderful friends who threw me a puppy shower in San Francisco.  It was the last thing I expected at RWA–and as you can see, my little Pele loves your toys!

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ight now, the only thing I can think about is next Tuesday at 11 AM central. For years and years–since I was barely eight years old–I have dreamed of getting a dog. My very own doggy–not one shared by brothers and sisters, but MY dog. But I have also tried to be generally responsible. I didn’t want to get a dog in college–I had roommates. And I was always so busy in grad schools, and I lived in places that didn’t allow animals, and then I worked jobs that required me to spend billions of hours away from home. . . . Needless to say, it was all just a little disappointing, and I was dogless.

But, lo and behold. I finished my job, and now I can get my heart’s desire: a puppy. I have been talking about this dog endlessly. I talked about this dog so much that my incredible critique partners threw me a surprise puppy shower at Nationals–and many of the people who visit this blog came.

Yesterday, I drove down to visit the litter. The little dogs are all adorable. At this age, they aren’t much bigger than large hamsters, but they are still loving and wonderful. They mobbed me en masse once they figured out that I brought treats.

And Tuesday at 11 AM, I pick up my dog. Later that day, or maybe Wednesday, I’ll post pictures. I promise not to be an annoying dog owner, who can’t talk anything but puppy. But for the first few days, I’ll probably annoy the pants off of everyone I meet.