João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brasil

CATS AND DOGS

There are cats and there are dogs. And there are cat lovers and cats who make love.

Dogs behave like, well, dogs. While cats, apparently more cultured, wait until after dark to carry on and wail that wierd baby-sounding wail that nobody could find endearing.

Well, this morning at about 8 o'clock, on the walkway by the ocean-front, there were these three cats. Two appeared to be related, based on their color pattern, while the Don Juan was gray. It was the gray and another which were behaving quite uncatlike, if you ask me.

As far as I can tell, loving cats have always sought the dark, but not today. In broad view, the gray cat straddled one, holding her by the neck in his teeth, while nudging her to raise her hind part. Just when she complied, her relative nipped her from behind to break up the sport.

Within a minute, the couple were back for another attempt. This time, the female snarled and called the whole thing off.

Not wanting to be considered weird, I left, which was quite irresponsible to science's further understanding of uncatlike behavior.

PBB