An invasion of his personal space

It happens again and again, just at feeding time.

Brat plants himself in the middle of the kitchen floor, solid, patient, & all-knowing. "The food comes out of that cupboard, she's the one who gets it for me, and when she starts downstairs to fill my bowl, that's when I'll move from this spot."

The kittens...so young! so naive! so wasteful of good energy!...race up and down the stairs, mewing piteously, curling around my legs, stretching way high up against the cupboards to see whether I've taken out the correct number of FF cans...

...and then, inevitably, Kai loses his head in the excitement of dinner time, and instead of curling against my legs, he curls himself right under Brat's nose. It shocks Brat every time, as if it had never happened before. He kind of half-snorts, and jerks his head back. If Kai is smart enough to keep moving and leave the room, Brat quickly recovers and resumes his dignified waiting. If Kai continues to use Brat as his personal rubbing post, Brat lets loose a half-strangled hiss, part threat and part hairball. It's pathetic to hear, and it must shame Brat to have it escape his lips because he always leaves the room right after. A few minutes later, he joins us in the basement, and quietly begins eating (inches away from Kai's face...no problem now).