It sounds like a taunt between children, and it’s what I imagine Smokey would say any time he gets the chance.
If Smokey can find an opportunity to be the tallest thing in the room, he will invariably take it.
On ladders.
On shower curtain rods.
And sometimes, on screens.
When Smokey was about a year old, he discovered that he could jump — and stick the landing — on the curtain rod above the bathtub or the metal frame of the shower doors. Once he learned this skill, there was no going back.
If you’ve never seen a cat flying toward you while you’re naked and vulnerable, well, you just haven’t lived.
Ladders are another favorite. Smokey loves climbing them and will vigorously defend his position once he reaches the top. He does not appreciate being told to get down. In fact, he considers such requests rude and beneath his station.
See those black cabinets in the background of the ladder photo?
Smokey likes to jump from the counter directly to the top of the cabinets. He doesn’t bother with intermediate steps. The refrigerator is for amateurs. His parkour skills have evolved beyond such limitations.
When we moved recently, Smokey discovered a new opportunity for vertical superiority. The small tree outside our patio attracts dozens of birds and squirrels every day. Naturally, Smokey believes he should be taller than them, too.
While he is never allowed fully outdoors, supervised patio time is one of the highlights of his day. Given the opportunity, he’ll climb the screens, stretch himself to impossible lengths, and attempt to achieve maximum altitude while maintaining visual contact with every bird in the county.
We suspect Smokey’s life philosophy is simple:
If you’re not the tallest creature in the room, are you even trying?