After some warming to the task, sometimes including a few feints to warn the muscles (and the world) of the impending cataclysm, the true yawn is marked by that paroxysm of the jaws that comes at the peak moment when they hinge wide as a rattlesnake in mid strike, and then snap shut — the tongue will acheive the potential energy of a staged rat trap, and the rapture is so complete that it should actually flatten the ears; this is generally followed up by a tapering-off phase involving some licking and chomping.
One of the most remarkable features of the yawn is how vulnerable it leaves you once you are well gone into the process. Since the eyes are squeezed shut and all attention is focused by the organs involved, a cat whose person is a regular wag might find they would leave their thumb hanging within the space between the jaws, so that you will seem to be surprised and amazed when your teeth clamp down on their flesh you'd had no idea was going to be there. You can only hope that you come near to drawing blood - and can fall back on the excuse that "well hey, it was a yawn, wad'ya expect ?!
It must be confessed as a word of warning here,
this is no time for looking like some kind of a genius ... there is little
that can be done to hide the moment of truth, you can forget about
that. It's yet another reason to keep your equipment in excellent
shape, all sharp and clean — and it's always a useful perk if you can arrange
to have a little garland strang of spittle in the back teeth, to decorate the
scene for the benefit of prying eyes ...
Fortunately, the
moment is lightning-brief and does not lend itself well to scrutiny.
Rest assured that the average cat's person does not have a camera handy with
sufficient constancy to invade your most private exercises with much hope of
success, and besides the odds are ironclad that the shutter will find it impossible
to capture an image anywhere near to the precise nanosecond of the high point
in a cat's yawn,
so that nobody is ever going to put a goofy photo of your mug on the 'net
where you look like you are singing in a drunken kitty cat opera or anything like
that.
So go ahead, practice technique, enjoy and always follow your yawnings.
|
