I'm up now, with nothing more than a lung infection to overcome.  While
I was in bed, I got the chance to do some cat observation between fever
dreams.  I noticed a lot about the art of the stalk as practiced by
various members of the Feline Mafia.

Pine Cone is an obvious stalker.  You walk down the hall, stop, and
he'll walk up and sit at your side from where he'd been following behind
you the whole time.  I watched him walk behind the hoomins of the family
and most of the feline members.  Different beings had different
attitudes about being stalked by him.  Mandy got exasperated with him,
Rob ignored him, Tanada hissed and tried to chase him, Merlin led him in
circles, and Squeakers tried to turn tail and chase him back down the
hall.  They were all fun to play with.

Merlin was a lurker stalker.  He would hide behind or under something
while the object of his search passed by, then slipped from one place to
another in order to keep the quarry in sight.  Most of his victims paid
attention to his stalking until the very last minute when he would come
up out of hiding and...sit on them.  He was the most effective stalker
of the lot.

Squeakers was an impatient stalker.  He would follow someone, the get
frustrated when they stopped to do something and dash off.  He would get
impatient with them and then try to stampede them into action.  It
rarely worked, but Squeaks would try.

Berfert was a humorous stalker.  He would do things to surprise the
victim.  He hid under the bed and slapped at my feet once while I was
climbing out of bed to go to the bathroom.  When I came back, he was
hidden under the bed, except for his butt and tail.  He followed Tanada
once and every time she turned around to hiss at him, he'd freeze and
wait until she turned back around and walked off.  Very entertaining.

Penny was a dasher.  She'd dash from one advantage point to another,
waiting for the subject to move on.  She was very good at hiding too,
but mostly relied on her fur as camouflage.  Penny's camouflage was very
effective, but she was too shy to press her point.

Last but not least, Huey was into gorilla warfare stalking.  He'd lay in
wait, when you walked by, he'd jump out and slap at your feet and
ankles.  Then he'd go back into hiding, waiting for his next victim.  He
was also good at Death From Above.  He'd climb up on the book case,
dresser, or computer desk and wait.  His victim, usually Penny would
walk by and he'd pounce down on her.  She'd jump straight into the air,
let out a yowl and run for the hills.  Huey would retire back to a place
to think about his win, smiling proudly, only to find that Pine Cone was
already sitting there, waiting for him.

Pam S.