2 posts tagged “kittens”
Well, since my blogs have mostly been depressing and whiny lately, I thought I'd post a couple of funnies. With kids, dogs, cats, and birds all living with me in relative harmony, strange things happen at my house all the time. I've really gotten used to it. But every once in a while, something comes up that surprises even me.
Random acts of kitten....
Around the first part of December, I sat down on the edge of the bed around eleven o'clock one night to call Cree and Bennett and tell them goodnight. My bed meowed at me. Rooting around in the rumpled up covers, I found a brand new little grey tabby cat, apparently a gift from my Siamese (who is supposed to be fixed, by the way). That is not what surprised me, because I've found newborn kittens in strange places in my house before.
Fast forward four months, and imagine my surprise when I opened a drawer in my kitchen to get a dish towel and found instead a furry butt. I screamed like a little girl and slammed the drawer shut. A second later, I realized what I had seen was not a rodent, but my four month old kitten, Tilly - napping in my dish towel drawer. Apparently, she opens the cabinet underneath the drawer and uses the recessed shelf inside as a step, enabling her to climb into the drawer while leaving it shut. Bennett and Cree are in town, so I have yet to live down the whole 'screaming like a little girl' thing. But I was just not expecting a furry form in my kitchen drawer...and yes, all the dishtowels have been re-washed and relocated. I have surrendered the drawer to the cat.
The things kids do to entertain themselves....
Yesterday, when the kids and I got home from school, Cree's kids were out in the front yard playing with giant bubble wands. I told my kids they could stay outside and play. I looked out the window to check on them and saw Cooper (7) and Jared (4) blowing giants bubbles, and KC (9) shooting and popping the bubbles with the Nerf gun. I was pretty impressed with his aim. Pa Pie will be proud.
Rock stars in the making...
Sometimes, it can even save your sanity. Animals don't talk back, and (unlike spouses) they appreciate the fact that you're taking the time to talk to them. My friend Mel posted this blog about catching grief for talking to animals. Who else are you supposed to talk to when you're home alone? I mean, it's crazy to talk to yourself!
I even go so far as to compose songs that I sing to my animals, or to other peoples' animals that I am close to. My latest composition was for my brother's bassett hound, Max (aka Maximus Longbottomus), and sung to the tune of the old Spider-Man theme song:
"Maxi-moose, Maxi-moose
Walks like a duck and barks like a goose.
Got some spots
On his nose.
Got some more
On his toes.
Look out, here comes the Maxi-moose!"
Now, if you want to call me crazy, go right ahead because I do, in fact, take prescription medication to treat 'Crazy Mommy Disease" (some people call it anxiety). I figure singing to dogs is a much safer outlet than, say, booze or drugs. And, like Mel's parrot, I have occasionally run into animals who did not speak English. I've met a couple of dogs and a cat who spoke Spanish and I have a friend with dogs who speak German. I can communicate with Spanish-speaking animals...German-speakers, not so much.
I love to talk to my husky/malamute mix because he will talk back. I never understand a word he says...I thought maybe he was speaking Eskimo until I remembered that he was born and raised in Texas. My lab rarely talks back, but he cocks his ears up and tilts his head side to side like he understands exactly what you're saying. My cats answer when I talk to them, and I must be pretty fluent in Cat because the conversations can last for several minutes at a time:
"Meow."
"Meeeooow."
"Mow. Meow."
"Mow."
I'm not usually sure what I'm agreeing to (which might explain the seven kittens currently running around my house...), but I always know when I've gone too far and said something like, "Yo mamma wears combat boots!" because they flick their tails in the air and stalk haughtily off.
I even talked to my brother's baby goats while I was house-sitting earlier this summer. I was amazed that you can tell exactly what a goat is thinking (they don't, in fact, think very often...goats are not the smartest animals I've encountered) by the tone of their "Baaahhh." I was surprised to learn that these particular goats did not like rain, hated mud, and became really annoyed if their food bowl was empty. I know I got told-off in Goat on several occassions...like I can help it if it rains!
So, to those of you who don't talk to animals well, you're missing out. They don't get offended when you talk about people and you never have to worry about them repeating what you've said. So, anybody want a kitten to talk to?
