IT WAS OUR FIRST TIME SPENDING the night together, but I was not expecting it to include their cat. I had heard many stories about Dancer, the Siamese cat; she sounded like a sweet, affectionate pet. I had packed an overnight bag and in hindsight, I should have brought some type of cat toy. While eating our carry out meal, Dancer perched herself on the kitchen counter so she could have a clear view of us eating at the table. I was expecting her to jump onto our table any minute based on the way she was intently looking at us. Gratefully there were no interruptions during dinner. At the end of the meal, we took our drinks and went into the den to settle on the sofa. Dancer took this to be an invitation because she followed us down the hall then jumped onto my lap once I was seated. The entire time we sat on the couch Dancer kept trying to reach my face, either climbing up my chest or coming from behind via the back of the sofa. No matter what admonitions were sternly warned at her, Dancer was determined to get to my face to either kiss or scratch me. I could not tell which way it would go.       THE DETERMINATION DANCER DISPLAYED WAS JUST a prelude to what was in store for me when it was time to go to bed. We were done closing up the house and making our way to the bedroom. Dancer was right at our heels the entire time. When we got into bed, Dancer jumped onto the bed and made her way to my pillow. She was taken and put back down on the floor. We settled ourselves back in bed and sure enough, Dancer jumped back up to try and reach me again. This went on a couple of more times before Dancer was placed outside of the bedroom. I thought our problem was finally solved, but I was wrong. Dancer started crying behind the closed door and kept it up non-stop until we opened the door. This time, however, Dancer was given a catnip toy as a distraction. She was all over the toy and gave us a moment of peace. By the time we fell asleep, I had forgotten about that cat. It did not take me long to fall into a deep sleep; but it took me less time to wake up after Dancer, from the floor, jumped up and landed on my back. I was done with this cat, so I got out of bed and made my way back to the den, where I slept the rest of the night on the couch while Dancer slept in my place in the bedroom. I would have loved to know what she was thinking when she first saw me walking into the house.      CATS CAN BE SO MUCH FUN and yet be so mysterious. Wouldn’t it be helpful if someone could explain what cats are doing? This documentary may finally provide you with the answers. Directed by Andy Mitchell (Secrets of the Whales-TV mini-series, American Serengeti-TV movie), I got a kick out of watching this movie. Granted I love cats and dogs equally; however, if you are not a cat person then I do not think you would want to spend the time listening to the “experts” discussing cats and their behaviors. The pacing of this picture was steady and light. In fact, there were times where it was getting to be a bit too cartoonish for me, but I still enjoyed seeing all the cats and their different settings. I do not know if this movie provides absolute proof about cats’ behaviors, but I will say I found it quite interesting. I would have loved to have seen some of these experts try and explain that nutty cat, Dancer.

3 stars