Cat stories
Yes, there will be cat stories, though I will hide them for the uninterested.
Years ago - almost nine years ago, actually - Brian and I went away for a belated honeymoon. We had mom and dad take Lenny the day before we were leaving.
About an hour before we had to leave for the station we get a phone call. It's my mother. The first words out of her mouth? A sobbing "I'm sorry, he was such a beautiful cat." - I am instantly horrified, but keep my cool...
Me - What happened?
Mom - He was such a beautiful cat.
Me - Did the dog hurt him?
Mom - No. I'm sorry. He was so beautiful.
Me - Did he get outside?
Mom - No. I'm sorry. (and she's just sobbing)
Me - What happened?
Mom - I can't find him; I looked everywhere.
Me - But he didn't get outside?
Mom - No.
Me - Then he's just hiding. You sit and have a coffee and when you're calmer, just whistle (because Lenny would answer to a whistle) or shake a box of dry food and he'll come out.
Twenty minutes later she calls back; Lenny had hidden himself behind the furnace. She didn't think he could fit back there, what with him being huge. For the first three days he was there she shut him up in their bedroom with his food and litter box and didn't let him out of her sight. After that, she let him roam free.
But, she later told us that he was very spoiled because "In the morning I'd pick him up off the bed and carry him to his food bowl, then when he was finished eating I'd carry him to the dryer so he could lay down in a sunbeam" - I had to tell her that we didn't carry him around like that, so the spoiling wasn't being done on our end.
Anyway, this week we are looking after my parents' cat, Smudge. They dropped him off on Saturday, and on Sunday morning, two hours after I got home from work, Brian woke me by asking where Smudge was... I didn't know, figured he was hiding since he hadn't gotten out when I came in. Brian hadn't seen him since 2 am, and looked all over for him without finding him.
I know that he couldn't have gotten out, and had to be hiding, but I just couldn't get back to sleep again. I went downstairs and George was staring fixedly behind the television; sure enough, there was Smudge, behind some boxes (put there, ironically, to keep the cats from getting behind the television).
I called Brian to let him know all was safe - he couldn't believe that Smudge had wedged himself into so small a space.
When I told my sister the story, she immediately said "You should have called mom to say 'He was such a beautiful cat'."
One more before I finally shut up.
Smudge has stopped hiding quite so much, but is still very hesitant and skittish. (Brian figures he'll relax the day before mom and dad return) He spends a lot of time being very nervous of George who, frankly, couldn't give a shit. Smudge was in the kitchen, and George in the hall - ten feet away, but in sight. Smudge was staring fixed at George and George looked over his shoulder as if to say 'dude, is there something behind me?'. I'm the last person to anthropomorphise my cat, but it was such a human reaction.
Years ago - almost nine years ago, actually - Brian and I went away for a belated honeymoon. We had mom and dad take Lenny the day before we were leaving.
About an hour before we had to leave for the station we get a phone call. It's my mother. The first words out of her mouth? A sobbing "I'm sorry, he was such a beautiful cat." - I am instantly horrified, but keep my cool...
Me - What happened?
Mom - He was such a beautiful cat.
Me - Did the dog hurt him?
Mom - No. I'm sorry. He was so beautiful.
Me - Did he get outside?
Mom - No. I'm sorry. (and she's just sobbing)
Me - What happened?
Mom - I can't find him; I looked everywhere.
Me - But he didn't get outside?
Mom - No.
Me - Then he's just hiding. You sit and have a coffee and when you're calmer, just whistle (because Lenny would answer to a whistle) or shake a box of dry food and he'll come out.
Twenty minutes later she calls back; Lenny had hidden himself behind the furnace. She didn't think he could fit back there, what with him being huge. For the first three days he was there she shut him up in their bedroom with his food and litter box and didn't let him out of her sight. After that, she let him roam free.
But, she later told us that he was very spoiled because "In the morning I'd pick him up off the bed and carry him to his food bowl, then when he was finished eating I'd carry him to the dryer so he could lay down in a sunbeam" - I had to tell her that we didn't carry him around like that, so the spoiling wasn't being done on our end.
Anyway, this week we are looking after my parents' cat, Smudge. They dropped him off on Saturday, and on Sunday morning, two hours after I got home from work, Brian woke me by asking where Smudge was... I didn't know, figured he was hiding since he hadn't gotten out when I came in. Brian hadn't seen him since 2 am, and looked all over for him without finding him.
I know that he couldn't have gotten out, and had to be hiding, but I just couldn't get back to sleep again. I went downstairs and George was staring fixedly behind the television; sure enough, there was Smudge, behind some boxes (put there, ironically, to keep the cats from getting behind the television).
I called Brian to let him know all was safe - he couldn't believe that Smudge had wedged himself into so small a space.
When I told my sister the story, she immediately said "You should have called mom to say 'He was such a beautiful cat'."
One more before I finally shut up.
Smudge has stopped hiding quite so much, but is still very hesitant and skittish. (Brian figures he'll relax the day before mom and dad return) He spends a lot of time being very nervous of George who, frankly, couldn't give a shit. Smudge was in the kitchen, and George in the hall - ten feet away, but in sight. Smudge was staring fixed at George and George looked over his shoulder as if to say 'dude, is there something behind me?'. I'm the last person to anthropomorphise my cat, but it was such a human reaction.