Mittens has always been highly observant, just not very bright. Rob and I used to watch him trot across the living room in his clueless way when *zoinks!* he'd spot a piece of lint or a twisty bread tie. Then he'd become a fierce jungle predator or perhaps an English hunting dog as he would freeze and point at the unfamiliar object.

Maggie showed practically no interest in her surroundings; all she wants is her food bowl, some water (the magic, refilling porcelain urn was perfectly acceptable) and a someplace to lie down. The only things she finds compelling are catnip and going outside to survey her domain. Nothing outward distresses her, even the day she schlepped around stuck in the handle of a paper bag.

Last night I brought Mo home from work, since we are off this week. Mittens was so busy with the pile of catnip on his little rug that he didn't observe me changing Mo's water or putting Mo on the top of the cable box (where it's warm) before going to sleep. Early this morning, however, Mittens finally saw Mo. Early this morning. Very early.

From the sounds of it, Mittens thought Mo was going to attack (which he might have been; he's a fighting fish). I awoke to the sounds of Mittens yowling and realized he'd seen Mo. Mo swam gracefully around his bowl, unaware of the attention he'd attracted. Mittens pined for him and after I threw some pj's at him (they were all I had on hand), he stopped trying to climb onto the cable box to get a closer look.

Instead, Mittens sat entranced for over a half hour, watching Mo circle lazily. Mittens is perched on the edge of the bed now, still longing to visit Mo up close but Mo is not a stupid fish. He's stopped circling and is now spreading his fins in a display of virility to scare my cat. Now I see why Sylvester and Tweety were so funny; the antics that Mittens will go through to try and get this fish will be interesting to observe.