I was cutting out fabric to complete a couple of costumes Friday evening. I’d made some mistakes in cutting earlier, such that I’d had to go get more fabric to finish the sleeves. So I washed and dried the additional, then spread it out to cut on the futon-bed upstairs.
I had it laid out carefully, with the edges precisely aligned, chalk cutting lines drawn and everything smoothed out with nothing hanging over the edge. This is on top of a cotton mattress and bedding, mind you. I stopped and straightened up, reaching for my scissors – only to have a black cat suddenly roll out from under the bed, teeth and all four paws armed and engaged, determined to slay the fabric-monster or die defending me from it.
I tried to gently remove it from her possession a couple of times, but of course as soon as I moved it slightly it “came back to life” and had to be attacked and subdued all over again. But even a human can be trained in time, and I figured out that if I just left Tornado and the cotton alone, she would eventually deem it “dead” and wander away. And so it was. It took about 5 minutes for her to decide that it had no further lives remaining and stop watching it. Then, of course, she had to rub my ankles and be praised and thanked for her defense of her turf and my honor. When gratitude had been expressed to her satisfaction, she wandered out the sewing room door. And having looked under the bed to be sure none of my ninja-cat’s fellow warriors lurked in the shadows, I spread my fabric again. I even got to cut it out and assemble the garment without further “assistance”.