I'm so shy b/c I hate to have you all find out that I'm not really a large cat.
But I am a cat lover, and I chose "lioness" b/c of a comment Mary Slaney made after making the Olympic team in the 5k. She called herself and her team-mates "lion-hearted women." And I thought, "I want to be a lion-hearted woman!" When I run, it's a positive image--especially if I'm having a tough race...I can carry with me the courage of a lioness, and keep on running!
Also, I have an orange/yellow tabby with 'tude--I think she too has the heart of a lioness! Her front paws seem lionlike too, with six toes. My sister the vet says it's a genetic aberration. I say it's b/c she's part lioness.
(She's lying on my lap as I write this.) Although very athletic, she doesn't run long distances (that's for you silly humans, she reminds me), but does enjoy doing sprint workouts up and down my apartment. She's also very adept in the jumping events, although she shuns the pole vault, feeling she doesn't need a stick to help her jump high.
Finally, she excels in gymnastics, performing maneuvers that would make an Olympian proud. And, of course, she's an excellent personal trainer, providing me with my morning wake-up call, grabbing any piece of me that's not under the covers, walking around or in extreme cases across my head. You don't sleep in when you live with a lioness, even one in a tabby's body.
