Diplocat Promotes Cross-Cultural Understanding

General Tsao, the rags-to-riches cat who lives with me since being rescued from the streets of Shanghai 2 years ago, likes to chase coins when I toss them. Sometimes General thanks me by picking up the leftover coins while I'm out and depositing them in my shoes or my bed as a present.

Unbeknownst to me, General Tsao found a new hiding spot for his coins in our apartment: under the edge of the area rug in the living room. When I came home from work today, my ayi asked if putting small change under rugs was an American custom. In response to my "huh?" reaction, she folded back the edge of the rug and told me, "I've never seen this in other American homes where I've worked, but I know all American families have different cultural backgrounds, so I realized this might be your tradition."

After I got control of my laughter, I explained that the custom came not from my own culture, but from my Chinese-American cat's.