"Really?" Rose asked, surprised. "I don't want to be an inconvenience..."

"Nah, I was about to feed him anyway," Damien said with a grin. "Come on back, and I'll show you around." He moved over to the employee gate and unlocked it, holding it open for her.

Rose hesitated for a moment, and then went in. She couldn't pass up this chance.

Damien grinned and led her inside, shutting the gate behind them. Then he went up a little hill to the top of the enclosure, getting out a big piece of meat from a freezer. It still had some ice around it, and the panther stopped when he heard.

Rose was watching the panther. Now that was a look she recognized.

"It's like when I open a can of food for my cat," she commented. "She knows the sound of a can opening."

"Oh yes. He knows exactly when he gets fed, and he knows the sounds," Damien said with a grin. "Stay here and watch this. You'll get a great view." He hiked up to the top of the enclosure and attached the frozen meat to a hook. Then he lowered it into the enclosure, swinging it around a little. The panther lowered himself to the ground, watching the swinging meat.

Rose knew that look. That was the look her cat always got when she got it in her head that she wanted to play. The feather toys never stood a chance. Rose stayed where she was and watched the panther.

Damien hoisted the meat up higher, and the panther leapt at it, latching on with his claws and dragging it back down to the floor. Damien managed to haul it up again, and the panther was momentarily lifted from the ground before he jerked the meat back down. Damien managed to get it away and sent it swinging over a little pond, the panther watching and waiting to strike.

Rose watched, fascinated and a bit impressed. It was obvious that Damien had a good relationship with the cat. She was impressed when Damien managed to haul the panther off the ground for a moment.

The panther struck when the meat swung his way again, clinging to it and dragging it backwards until Damien gave up, letting go of the rope. The panther growled happily and dragged the meat off to the back of the enclosure to eat while Damien leaned back, panting a little.

"Impressive," Rose said once the spectacle was over. "You obviously have a good relationship with him."

"It's his weekly game," Damien said with a little grin. "We have enrichment programs here, and that's one of his. He also gets some other treats, and I've started taking him out into a larger area, a big playpen, of sorts. So he can smell new things, the other cats, have more room to pounce on things."

"It kind of reminded me of my dad's cat," Rose commented. "The little beast. I swear, if I didn't know better, I'd say he isn't a normal cat. But he loves wrestling and socks and ambush attacks."

"Yeah, he's a mini monster. And I say mini only because we had a tiger here a few years back that was huge. He weighed about six hundred pounds." Damien shook his head.

Rose grinned.

"My dad's cat is big for a housecat," she said. "The only reason he can't open doors for himself is because he isn't heavye nough to actually pull the door open. But he can reach the handle." She shook her head a bit. "I swear he only keeps us around because we have opposable thumbs."

Damien laughed a little. "Yeah, that sounds like a cat," he agreed with a broad grin. "If he could, that guy would feed himself. And probably eat too much, too. He can be a pig."

"Cats seem to be alike that way," Rose commented.

"Yes, they are. And housecats are worse. If they run out of food they yell at you and complain until you give them more." Damien shook his head a little, amused.

"Yeah," Rose replied. "My cat does that regardless, but she's spoiled rotten."

Damien chuckled and nodded. "I had a cat like that. He was the most spoiled thing I've ever seen."

"Our cats tend to be absolutely disgraceful," Rose said. "At any given moment, they can be found lying upside-down on the couch with their feet in the air."

Damien laughed. "Ah yes. Cats." He shook his head a little, still smiling. "Come on. You wanna meet any of the others?"

"Can I?" Rose asked. She definitely wanted to, but she wasn't sure if she was allowed to.

"Sure. Who would you like to meet? Any of the big carnivores, I can get you in to see." Damien smiled charmingly at her.

Rose melted a little. He had such a wonderful smile...

"I don't think I can choose," she finally managed.