Compromise and Conceit

My little foundling came home from the vet today, and as predicted he has to wear a cone around his head to stop him picking out the stitches on his many injuries. This means he can’t wash himself at all. An interesting thing is happening though – before he sleeps (as he is about to do now, on my lap) he tries to go through the pre-sleep washing ritual, even though the cone is still around his face. So he just licks the cone instead, while contorting his body as if he were actually cleaning himself. Once he’s done, he takes on an extremely hard-suffering expression, as if he’s read desCartes and knows that, deep down inside, he’s just a machine that responds to external stimuli.

You’re not, Arashi-chan, you’re not!!!