Category: Lessons from My Kitties

We were gathered on the patio that summer evening enjoying the sunset, while the cats explored the safe, fenced-in yard. Missy was gracefully leaping, turning and running. Some bug was in big trouble, we thought. As she sat playing with something, Jen went to investigate, then shouted, “Come look!” Missy had caught a baby rodent….

… no, actually it was the worst of times. Zoey was at my door and Hunter was at Jenna’s when I got up. I opened the windows onto a clear, beautiful morning and immediately understood. Roofers were on the house across the way. My cats hate roofers. They are loud and unpredictable. I let them…

(I posted this originally last October. But it fit so well into what I’ve been thinking these days, that I decided to send it out again. Adventures in the garden – for all of us!) We had not done much with our yard, having focused on renovating the house. But now it was time. First,…

Has My Litter Box Gone? Ah yes, the joys of home maintenance are shared by everyone, including the pets. In preparation for the drywall, I moved the cats’ food, water and litter box into my bedroom where the cats could hunker down.  Both cats immediately found the food and water, but Zoey couldn’t seem to…

I wake to see my bedroom door opening. After a moment, Zoey enters. The clock says 3 AM. A couple of years ago, Zoey taught herself how to open our doors. She sat and studied the lever-style handles for days, then stood on her hind legs, hooked a paw and pulled. She was so proud…

“Zoey,” I said, “in a few minutes I am going to vacuum this room.” From her position lounging on my bed, my cat just looked at me. I’m sure she understood, but she wasn’t moving. Zoey has always had the notion that the vacuum cleaner, with all its noise, actively seeks to suck up cats….

The workmen were here! And the cats were gone. My cats are afraid of workmen. Workmen are unfamiliar, noisy, unpredictable. So they hide. Of course, housecats have limited places to go. Hunter was behind the bed, with his head under the bedspread. Zoey was tucked under a side table. Let me just say, these cats…

Hunter loves canned cat food. At 5 PM (he hears the specific birdsong from the Audubon clocks), he goes to the Feeding Place to wait in expectation. Hunter is messy, though, and doesn’t always eat “over his plate.” Even with a placemat he flicks food onto the floor. I didn’t worry too much about it….

Last week, when I was so full of grief, I couldn’t function at all. It wasn’t until a questioning, “Meow?” at 5:30 in the morning made me leap from bed. I had completely forgotten to feed the cats the night before! Their bowls were licked clean. Heaping praise upon my good kitties for not waking…

When my kids were teens, “laser tag” was all the rage. Places sprang up everywhere with varying equipment, amenities, “weapons,” – and prices. Players were encouraged to wear black or very dark clothing so as to be less visible in the black-lighted play areas. My son loved the game. It was a test of skill…