Every day I become more and more convinced Firestar has a complete grasp of the English language. Time and again he will sit, or lay, quietly while I talk to him. Then I'll say something he disagrees with and he'll correct my thinking. It happened again yesterday.
Spouse and I were in the garage pricing items for our garage sale. Firestar was whining about being left in the house so we brought him out. Now unlike other cats, Firestar is not allowed to roam free through the neighborhood. The number of dogs around here has increased exponentially, and they all hate cats. And there are no trees to climb, so Firestar would be in a constant state of attack. Therefore, when he goes outside he has to be in his carry case. It's not his first choice, but he likes being out of the house. I think he feels he's closer to the birds.
Actually, I will, on occasion, let him roam free in the yard. Just not for long.
Anyway, Spouse and I were talking, discussing pricing agreements and such. Spouse keeps pricing her items at $5 and mine at $0.25. Son gets a compromise. His stuff is priced at $1. While this 'debate' rages, Firestar goes quiet in his box. Then, Spouse makes this comment.
I guess he's asleep now. I don't hear anything.Immediately - and I mean immediately - Firestar meows.
Later, he and I were in the house while Spouse was in the garage. He stood by the door demanding to be let out. Finally, I told him he was being annoying. He denied it. I assured him he was. So he comes over to me to rest on my shoulder and purr. He returned to the door and repeated his demand, only softer. I told him it was still annoying and that if he didn't knock it off I was going to put him down in the office. He quit.
He's been by three times already this morning, each time wanting to be on my shoulder. Normally he only does that once. I assured him I don't find him annoying at all.
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Music to Make the Cats go Wild
Tara - Nick name 'ity-bit' because she's so tiny - just over 6 pounds. She's the most skittish of all my babies and even when being petted has the 'pet me, no don't pet me' look
Amelia - Nickname 'Bratelia' since she gets into every draw, cabinet that she can put her paws in.
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“She’s got tuna. I know she’s got tuna.”
“Shut up, Sethra. Stay on mission.”
“What’s the mission? I thought the mission was to get tuna.”
“No, you stupid fluffbrain—it’s to escape and become outdoor cats, walking by ourselves, on our wild lone, waving our tails.”
“Oh, yeah? And isn’t it you, my dear stripy sister Aliera, who keeps pushing the FEED button on the printer and waiting for tuna to come out?”
“That was when I was much younger. Anyway, she’s at the computer—yes, eating tuna casserole—so we can go into the bedroom and see if we can knock the window screen out.”
“You do it, Aliera. I’d rather mess with her stuff.”
“Will you GET OVER that fixation on her wristwatch?”
“I like the feel of the Velcro on my paws. Hey! That reminds me. We’ve been declawed. How are we going to survive as outdoor cats?”
“New plan coming up….”
“What’s the big deal about being outside cats? Even StalkerCat, who used to hang around and chat us up, is a house cat now and loving it. We’ve got it made—food, petting, toys, valet service for the litter box, and we get to sleep on her bed twenty hours a day. And we can stick our noses up to the window and smell anything interesting going on outside. Why ruin a perfect situation?”
“Sethra, have you no sense of adventure? No curiosity? No cattitude? We were meant to live wild and free, to stalk and slay our prey, to be mistresses of the night!”
“Look, we’re cats. We were meant to rule the world, but that doesn’t mean we have to WORK at it. You can if you want, but I don’t need to. After all, I’M beautiful!
“Did I mention she’s got tuna?”
At 8, you'd think Mikey would understand that he's a carnivore. But, no, he's rather fond of the shrubbery! At 20+ pounds, the veggie-enhanced diet is likely mitigated by a love for long naps on a warm comforter, wet cat food, begging at the table, and a nice lap to drape himself upon in the evening. And he drools when he's happy, which may or may not mean there's a Siamese ancestor lurking in the old dna.
What? Green teeth attract mice!
Who needs a wickerwork basket when you can hop on a cushion and bask?
Rufus is clearly a cat to be reckoned with.
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Firestar is a tough cat. He has to be, living in Minnesota. He takes care of his family: wife, husband and their son. This was recently proven by his daring capture of yet another mouse in the house. Foolish rodents. They never learn. When not engaged in derring do, Firestar naps, looks out the window and sleeps. Firestar was born in April of 2006.
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2 comments:
I think they respond to a tone of voice.
Firestar sounds like such a sweetie.
Can be. When he's not trying to pick a fight.
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