Toe Cracking like Cats and Dogs
I have a one dog, two cat home. The kids love cats and ol' Mom (me) loves everybody, but has a special affection for dogs.
The dog is a silky terrier mix. The cats are cats, firm in their righteous rejection of breeding and tribal labels. Everybody has a high prey drive and sensitivity to squeaky mouse noises. I sometimes feel like a shepherd to a small flock.
One of the things I've noticed is that when "the herd" is at peace they all have the same body language. Cats and dogs don't really have the same body language, but living together has given them some common non-verbal phrases. One morning greeting habit is particularly interesting.
In the morning, everybody likes to enter the kitchen and crack their toes as a greeting. In yoga this would be the downward dog pose, a deep elongating stretch of the spine. Both cats and the dog will do this purposeful bow to the others while adding an exaggerated leg kick that seems to send energy down the length of the body through the toes.
I’m quite sure the limitations of human ears keep me from hearing an audible crackling as those paw toes are spread and stretched.
The result can be contagious. Once one member of the herd begins this ceremony, the others seem drawn to repeat it. Once the cycle is complete, everyone seems relaxed and agreeable to personal body sniffing.
Has anyone else seen similar behaviors?
Is it wrong to feel a little jealous about being able to stretch like this every morning?
Anybody know how to crack their toes?
