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A ritual and some yogurt

Last night the Full Moon Group inner court held a dinner, get-together, and ritual for one of our members who's been having a hard time with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as the result of an armed robbery she suffered a few months back. I think it went quite well; everyone worked together with a pleasing rhythm, and I don't think I've EVER laughed that much in circle when, as the amulet was being passed around for each person to sew a token onto it, we started talking about very humorous matters. "Mirth and reverence", indeed.

After everyone had gone home I collapsed into bed and slept like the dead. This morning my back is hardly hurting at all in spite of sitting on the floor for part of the ritual last night. Perhaps whatever-it-is that's plaguing me is finally letting up.

News on the Mina front: About fifteen minutes ago I was sitting at the coffee table eating my breakfast, a bowl of low-fat vanilla yogurt with granola mixed in. Mina, who is usually about as observant and responsive as a stump, took a real interest in what I was doing. She came and sat in front of the table, looking at me intently. Then she jumped up on the table and sat gazing at the bowl in my hand. Then she slowly came forward and, with a tentative tongue, licked the edge of the bowl.

I shooed her away a little, scooped up a bit of yogurt on one finger, and offered it to her. She yummed it right up.

... my cat likes low-fat vanilla yogurt. The cat who NEVER takes any interest in human food. I guess I never noticed before because I've only recently begun to eat yogurt. I only gave her a little bit -- we'll see what it does to her digestive system.

The scientific method in action

When I got home I told George about Mina's interest in my fat-free vanilla yogurt, and he suggested a little experiment.

The question was: Is Mina reacting to the yogurt base, or to the vanilla flavor? Fortunately I have a bottle of sugar-free Starbucks vanilla flavoring, so I poured a little into a spoon, wet my fingertip with it, and came into the living room to present it to Mina, who was lounging on the couch beside George.

SPROINNNNNNNGGGG! She was instantly and totally at attention, and very eager to lick the flavoring off my finger. It looks like it's the vanilla, not the yogurt, that gets her going.

Next up: Does Emmie react as well? We called them both into the kitchen, and I presented them with the open bottle of Starbucks flavoring, held equidistant between them. Emmie sniffed at the body of the bottle and almost immediately lost interest. Mina homed right in on the opening and started to lick it before I pulled it up and away.

Does anyone else have a cat that reacts to vanilla...?

(After the experiment we gave Emmie and Mina some Pounce cat treats as a reward for being such wonderful contestants. It looks like my morning bowl of yogurt and granola will be taken in feline company in the future, with a smear of yogurt shared as a gesture of fellowship and good faith.)