I walk into the bathroom and turn on the faucet in the sink. The Cat, Cleo, runs in, leaps from the closed toilet lid to the sink and shoves her head under the running water, before I can get my bite guard under it. I wait for the water to get warm, while she is slurping it down, fill the bite guard box with warm water and turn off the faucet.

I get a disgruntled meow for that.

I pull out a strand of dental floss, begin to use it, and Cleo, not to be outdone, reaches for it with both front paws, bats for it, then extend her neck and chomps down on the end, "Nyeow."

There is a rare day that I take a shower alone. She sits on the tubside, either on back haunches, begging, or staring me down until I supply some running water from my fingertips. Multiple times. When I am done, she does the obligatory drinking of H2O from the unused soap dish and then takes her bath while I dry off. This is our routine.

If I leave the room while she is napping, and she wakes up, she calls to me (and calls and calls) and wanders room to room until she finds me.

And the dog, the one known as Zulu?

I was *in the bathroom yesterday, door closed, as it should be in these moments. Zulu out on a walk with N. They came home, and with a great clatter and excitement, the bathroom door BURSTS open, dog all full of vim and vigor. Had to check in. Apparently was a *great* walk.

No, we do not have children. But we play parents on TV.