Sherpa slighted?

Sherpa slept in the boiler house the night before last. Why she slept there and not in an armchair beside the fire, on a night when crisp snow covered the ground and it was forecast that the temperature could drop to -4 C, baffles me. Was she feeling unwell, in need of peace? Was she waiting for another cat? When I left Banjo out at an unknown hour in the morning, she had no inclination to come inside and declined the food I offered.

I wonder if she sought solitude because I have been paying more attention to Banjo recently. She even had to get up from my lap the evening before, a few minutes after settling on it when I went to let John in. Perhaps Sherpa feels slighted.

I try to avoid favouring one cat. Banjo is jealous if he feels Sherpa is receiving too much attention. She is aware of this and knows it is wise to leave my lap when he starts to make a scene. Often the first indication I have that he is on his way to the door to be let in, is when she slips down beside me in the armchair.

It is not that Banjo forbids all intimacy between Sherpa and me. Each cat accepts the other is entitled to love and be loved, and it is only when one regards the other’s demands as excessive that redress is needed. His distress is directed outwards, hers inwards.

Now and again we have the very happy situation where all three of us are on the sofa, she on my lap, he resting a paw, or two, or four on my arm, purring loudly.

Last night Sherpa slept in the house. On one side of me.