It makes him happy

In the past week, I've crossed a threshold I'm not too proud of. I've become That Girl who dresses up her cat. It started when I found a random bandana in my apartment (I think my dad left it here when he helped me move). On a whim, I folded it into a triangle and tied it around Max's neck--like people do for their dogs. Much to my surprise, he didn't try to get it off. In fact, he loved it. There was visible strutting. I didn't want him to keep it on that day while I wasn't home because I don't trust him not to hang himself, but when I held it out for him later that evening, he gleefully stuck his little chin forward so I could slip it back over his head.

A few days later, he lost the bandana (I think it's under the bed somewhere). Currently, he is quite content wearing a chiffon scarf tied in the same way. Pictures are definitely in order--stay tuned.

Does this make me a bad pet owner? I freely admit that I find the sight of scarf-wearing Max to be absurdly funny, so in some measure I keep putting it on him to manufacture my own mirth. But...he loves it. Actually, this reminds me of an episode of The Pet Psychic I saw once (holy shit, I didn't just admit to watching that show!)--this family owned a llama who was really cantakerous. The llama would throw fits and act out all the time. The Pet Psychic had her little chat with him and discovered that he was really jealous of everyone else and their clothes. On camera (which is key here, because I wouldn't have believed this if I didn't see it myself), she offered the llama her scarf--tied it around his neck in a big, floppy bow. Immediately, the llama straightened up, tall and proud, and began strutting around the corral near the camera crew. There was a visible change in the llama's disposition once the bow had been tied. They showed footage later that wasn't originally intended to be part of the show--after the "interview" was over and everyone was standing around, the llama's owner tried to give the PP her scarf back. When he untied it, the llama went apeshit and started bucking. The PP put it back around his neck, and he strutted again. They did a follow-up with the owners a little later to find that the llama was now quite happy with a collection of hats, scarves, and neckties.

Anyway, seeing Max when I give him his scarf is much of the same.