A stump as tall as me, with several half-fused trunks lopped off at various heights. Not rooted--it's on a stage. Audience seating's to west, backstage east.

Cats lounge around the stump or on its lop-shelves. Four: a feral white housecat; a spotted wild cat, bigger than a bobcat and with a long tail; a black panther, larger still; and an oddly striped gray cat huge as a lion--some rare breed of tiger?

The tiger snarls at the panther who snarls at the lynx-size cat who threatens the housecat. Who doesn't back down a bit! None of them do. Slash and hiss right back! For cats, pride matters more than size.

I blunder too close. The panther stalks over to me. I feel panic--I'm just as big, but those claws are so big & sharp! But I hide my panic, hiss & slash with my hand--even though I have no claws at all! But the cat understands territoriality--backs off a bit, accepting the boundaries I've established, and we both relax. All do. If one had attacked me and I'd panicked, they all might have decided I'm prey not a peer.

But cats respect self-respect!

NEXT DAY

I'm in Roommate Referral, San Francisco's largest rental listings center, looking at house-share notices in binders.

Someone comes in with a HUGE dog. Wow, good luck finding a place that'll accept THAT monster!

Then I hear a deep tiger growl behind me. Turn my head, and three inches from my nose, a cat one-tenth the dog's size slashes at him.

And Dogzilla backs off.

I can learn from that cat. Defense isn't always about winning. It's not just physical. It expresses self-respect. And others read it as such.

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