As Jessie said, Noah is a fancy cat. He’s a Flame Point Siamese, from PAWS. He’s about 5 years old now. Belonged, according to PAWS, to a hoarder. He was one of 30+ cats in a trailer. They said the smell was beyond comprehension, requiring a gas mask. Noah is fearless. If one runs up to him, or almost steps on him, or opens the fireplace right in front of him, he just sort of looks at you like, “What next?” He is aggressively affectionate. His greatest reinforcers seem to be bodytime and food. Any bodytime is good, but rubbing his belly appears to be the best. He always presents himself to have his belly rubbed when I walk down to the house from the studio on a warm day. Just goes “thunk” onto the warm cement, shows me his belly, and chirps in one way or another. As the narrator said in one documentary about cats, they have evolved perfectly to get what they want and need from humans. He will also push you out of the way, no matter who you are, for his preferred food. He came into a household where Vincent the Cat, originally named Van Gogh by the folks at PAWS because he is orange and has a clipped ear, was the Alpha cat — the only one. He had been for a while, my dear friend, slept on my bed every night. But, I think because a human clipped his ear at one point, he always hesitates, goes under the table to stay in control, seemingly worried we will cut off his other ear. Once you approach him and reach out, though, he’s sweet and affectionate and gentle, and very humble for a cat. Noah bowls him over, insisting on being the Alpha, despite Vincent’s being older and senior. These days they press up against each other a lot, sometimes like Yin and Yang on the couch or a patio chaise. I’m not sure Vincent likes it. He seems to tolerate it. Noah comes over, plops down, and snuggles right against him. Every so often, Vincent gets up, looks disgusted, and just moves elsewhere. But often Noah follows. So Vincent seems to tolerate his friend’s closeness most of the time, maybe even liking the cozy warmth shared with his cat house mate. This is my social life.