A Step Off the Ground

My front claws tapped against a vertical pillar of smooth oak—the leg of a dining chair standing by the wall. Pausing, I tilted upward and spotted a rounded horizontal rung hovering just a few inches above the floor. I let out a staccato click. Reaching up, I hooked two curved limbs over the polished dowel and pulled. With a muffled squeak and a clumsy kick of my rear legs, I hauled my soft dome upward onto the beam. Balancing gingerly, I wrapped my claws around the curved wood and flattened down tight, peering out across the open floor from my new perch.