My extraordinary spouse recently commented on a very particular habit of those who provide customer service over the phone. He noticed that they all say, “That’s perfect!,” or some version thereof.
Turns out, I’m one of “those people.” We finally found a match for your calendar with our availability? Perfect! You received the email and all of your questions were answered? That’s perfect! You need to reschedule your appointment and the first option offered works for you? Perfect!
This is a very optimistic outlook for a highly imperfect world. It is an outlook that my new bestest friend Sky shares with me.
Other people who know this orange tabby might disagree. They probably know Sky as part of a shy troupe, along with beautiful calico Audrey, Chicken Nugget (yes, I call him Chickie Nuggies) and Cornbread (I want to call him Pone, but I do have a modicum of self-restraint. Okay, I’m totes lying. I call him Pone.).
I’m not sure which had the idea first, but Chicken Nugget and Cornbread agreed about blocking the tube between their old suite and its solarium. This was a work of art! Not to be outdone, Sky and Audrey took their stylistic snuggling to never before reached heights. (Okay, those heights are often reached at Tabby’s Place – we’re talking about the high ramps up to the tubes that cross the hallway into the solaria from the suites. You caught me out again.)
In an effort to help these fine felines find friends of a different nature (humans, that is), the POWERS THAT BE (the unbelievably amazing staff and decision-makers and movers and shakers 
that make Tabby’s Place what it is) thought fit to relocate the foursome to a suite more within human reach while still providing a sense of safety and comfort for the four.
Flash forward to my first visit with these guys in their new space.
Cornbread was snuggled in a cat tree cubby. He was completely indifferent to my attention. Indifferent is okay. He was unbothered by me, which means he was content to be pet or not. Either way, the Pone was perfect.
I saw neither hide nor hair of Chicken Nugget that day (more recently, he was sighted with Cornbread, squished together under a cabinet). He was completely content to be virtually invisible, and I was happy to accommodate his preference for space. It was a perfect solution that worked for us both on that day.
There was a brief Audrey spotting. The shy, sweet miss was at the open corner of a soft crate. Curled up for a cozy snooze, she was perfect in how content she was to be seen or not. I elected to not disturb her slumbers (always a perfect choice to leave a sleeping cat lie). This decision was reinforced by Sky.
Sky. He is the limit!
Wow. Sky.
I can’t get over this guy, and neither should you.
When I stepped within whatever range Sky determined to be quite close enough, he stood from his spot next to Audrey (his spot is almost always next to Audrey), with his paws just outside the soft crate opening. Sky looked at me and hissed twice. So, I sauntered (Yes, sauntered. It’s a thing. You should try it.) over to the cozily cushioned bench, sat down, chattered at Sky about coming over, and held out my hand, low and open. Sky took his time creeping over to me. He took his 
time reaching his nose out to sniff my fingers. Then, all at once, he was letting me pet him, purring all the while. PERFECT!!
Sky’s hisses were a conversation starter. They likely meant something along the lines of, “I’m nervous,” or “I’m not sure about you,” or “Why are you here?” But, the limitless Sky was also brave. He took a chance that I might be nobody to be nervous about, someone he could be quite sure of, and a person who belonged exactly at that space in that moment. This was extraordinarily optimistic on his part, especially since we had never met before, not even once.
Maybe he sensed the kindred spirit of somebody being in a new space (metaphorical for me, but true nonetheless). Maybe he sensed that I’d recently been having a hard time too. Maybe he was just okay with the way I smell (pheromones are big things for little creatures). Either way, Sky’s clouds and mine lifted a little in that time we shared. We gambled on each other, and we both won. And that is absolutely perfect.
Watch and hear Sky purr: https://youtu.be/VsfnLqnbJ_o