"Nina--Do Quack!"

Over a year ago, I met a young man who was in a desperate situation, and in an attempt to help him out, I invited him to come stay with me. He quickly became friends with my two felines, Nova and Nina, even though Nova at first hissed at him on sight for several months. Okay, so Nova warmed up to him more slowly--well, Nova is a special case. But never in my wildest imagination did I expect to hear the words I heard today.

He came to my room earlier to talk, and asked, "Did you know that Nina quacks like a duck?" Taking my focus from my pc, I asked him to repeat himself. "Last night Nina quacked like a duck." And that took me down memory lane...

...Years ago, in the 80's, I had a kitten named Cricket. She was a manx cat, or rather, a kitten without a tail. Cute little kitty!! Well, in the absence of a kitty tower for her to play on, she was jumping all over one of my upholstered kitchen chairs. It was a durable set, so I don't think she harmed anything. I placed the chair in front of a full length mirror so she could watch herself. She clambered to the top of the chair, and looked like she was ready to jump to me. She perched there for a while, teetering on all fours, and my attention went to something else. But then she barked. I turned around, exclaiming "Cricket!" And she did it a second time. I was able to watch her the second time, and it was really as though she began her meow, but lost her voice after it began, so it sounded more like a bark. I was amazed. I told everyone about Cricket barking. Sadly, she got out on the front patio of the apartment I lived in, and ran away. She was always good at making those mad dashes for the door! I searched a long time for her, but nobody I asked had seen her, or knew where she might have gone to. I still remember her fondly.

So last night, when my housemate came in to say that Nina had quacked like a duck, I can't say I was all that surprised. If one cat can "bark," then I would imagine another can "quack." Not that I've heard her do it, but suddenly my housemate begins encouraging her to do it again. "Nina, quack for Mommy." "Nina, quack." To our mutual regret, she didn't repeat her amazing feat.

Today, my cell phone rang, and of all things, it was my housemate, calling from his room. Seeing my home number on the caller ID, my first question was, "Why are you calling me?" He said, "Because I want you to hear Nina quack!" Laughing, I said okay. So again, he repeats, "Nina, quack for Mommy. Nina, Nina, come here. Quack for Mommy." I said dryly, "I'm not sure that's going to happen." He replied, "She hears your voice." So I started calling her over the phone, "Nina, Nina, come here, Baby." What can I say, it's Sunday afternoon. Then, in resignation, he said, "She hears you outside the door. She's looking at the door, instead." So again, in spite of our efforts, we couldn't get Nina to quack.

Later, he sends me an IM to a Yahoo Voice conference. He can show surprising determination in some areas! He figured this way I didn't have to talk, and Nina wouldn't get distracted. Um, right. He is definitely on a mission! "Nina, quack for Mommy." "Nina, Nina, quack for Mommy." "Nina, Do Quack!"

I about busted out right there. He is telling my cat to "Do Quack?" I was cracking up, just hearing that! (Or should I say quacking up?) I couldn't believe he said that. Ohmigosh! Well, in spite of his best efforts, he never managed to get Nina to quack again, and when the hands free voice/mic feedback started reverberating like a fleet of submarines, I exited the conference. Even if she did manage to quack again, I wouldn't have heard it over that cacophony!

Maybe one day I'll hear her "quack." I'm sure it was adorable. You have to admit, barking or quacking, when a cat does something like that, it's remarkable. And I had to laugh at my housemate's way of phrasing at least one of his requests.