[ June 10th, 2002 at 8:07 pm ]

Molly has this little thing that she does. While I’m rinsing out the cats’ shared water bowl and refilling it with fresh water, she runs behind the shower curtain, across the bathtub, and out the opposite side. I’m not sure if she makes this particular circuit at other times of day — I’ve only seen her do so when I’m changing her drinking water — but to me it seems an expression of happiness or anticipation. What I find unfailingly hilarious about the act are the noises, which are uncannily similar to the noise of a cue ball tumbling through the innards of a pool table after the other player has scratched. It begins with the thud of an object falling a short distance; this closely followed by a sustained, rolling rumble, somehow slightly uneven; and finally, that subtle but triumphant sound of emergence. It’s all represented in the sounds a kitten makes while playing in the bathtub.