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Purr, Munch and Pounce

I got in trouble yesterday.

Mom and I had a bit of an argument last night. See, I've been super-playful lately. Problem is I don't know how to be playful without being aggressive, so the other cats won't play. Rumble will once in awhile, but not the others. Mom, on the other hand, is fair game and likes to play. But when I get too revved up and forget to retract my claws or bite down too hard, she doesn't like it. And that's what started all the fuss.

We were on the couch (as usual), and I started biting the electric blanket (as usual). For some reason I'm not supposed to do that, so she raised her leg under the blanket and I fell over on my back. Clear signal for play to start. So I quite reasonably attacked her leg. My claws haven't been clipped in a couple weeks and are nice and sharp, enough so to penetrate both blanket and jammies. She said "ow" and jerked away. Well, of course, that's prey motion and I attacked again. And again. She tried to distract me with a toy, but then her toes looked so tempting... come to find out toes are sensitive creatures, and the "ow" this time was somewhat louder. She picked me up and started to give me a brisk body rub-down. Sometimes that stimulates me enough that I quit being aggressive. But not this time, oh no, I was dead set on chomping those toes.

Then she did something that was, well, really stupid IMO. She decided to clip my claws. I mean, come on, I was WAY too hyper for that. Apparently even moms can have brain farts. I gave my best irritated meow and pushed her away, but she wasn't dissuaded. I tried to kick her away, but she doesn't put up with that - disembowelling your mom is out of bounds. Still, it's just a means of pushing her away, so she doesn't really get mad about it. But THEN - I gave my angriest meow, growled, and tried to scratch her! No one does that. Even when she pills us, no one ever attacks, just tries to get away. And she was not happy with me. She lifted me up to eye level, loudly said "Lurch, NO!" and put me on the floor. I was still peeved, but before long I wanted to come back up. She ignored me! For minutes and minutes! Finally I gave my humblest meow and asked to *please* come back up. So she picked me up and we were friends again. I don't hold grudges. I realize she's just a human and doesn't always understand cat rules. For her part, she put off clipping my claws.

That's been the only real trouble we've had though. Lately I've discovered that she eats tasty things, and pop right up to get my share. Bagels and cream cheese are my favorites, and if she has a glass of milk - well, there's just no stopping me. I've almost knocked over a couple of glasses in my enthusiasm. Give it to me right out of the glass, thank you! And those little bits of bagel - they are just the greatest.

She says she's creating a monster, but the combination of excitement and bliss must be cute. Hey, whatever works.

No more vampire teeth...

Mom says I can't be a vampire anymore. I've chipped both my fangs and they don't stick out over my lower lip now. I don't know how I did it - probably falling on the brick patio, or launching myself off the couch and hitting the coffee table leg. Oh well, they don't hurt. Mom looked and said the chips aren't near the root of either tooth.

And just think, it's almost October. Pooh - I wanted to be a vampire for Halloween.

At least I can still stick the tip of my tongue out and look super cute that way...

Watch for a new video on my page. Mom caught me while I was walking around the back yard, so you can see how I get around. Pretty darn well, I think. Plus she filmed me snacking on a cicada. Cicadas are tasty!

Mornings

I like mornings! The cheerful sunlight, sound of yummy birds, breeze through the window...

Mom doesn't like mornings. At all. The radio kicks on, the alarm clock goes off, and she just cannot get up. So I've started helping.

The first step is to pounce on her. I have my "play with me" look on - trembling body (part of my condition - intentional tremor), eyes wide, head up, staring fixedly at her. She smiles and pets me. I roll over, grab her hand, purr and do everything possible to keep it going. She falls back asleep. I pounce again. This time, when she wakes up, I meow. We go through the petting thing again, she playfully grabs my face, and then falls back asleep. I meow louder. She tells me that while I'm the cutest thing in the world, I'm also a pain in the [I'm not supposed to say the next word]. Meow. She says "go away." Meow. Finally she sits up a bit and grabs my belly or throws a blanket on me or something fun. We play for a couple of minutes and she gets up.

But then she leaves. Not good. I launch off the bed and stumble into the kitchen (she's stumbling too, but it's different). I'm hungry. Meow. She gets food out of the fridge. Meow. She says "ok, ok, I'm working on it. Give me time to hunt!" Meow. Finally she takes the food, picks me up, and carries me and food to my eating place. She strokes me with the back of her hand on the way and I start to purr. She puts the meat down, puts me down and pets me again for a minute. When I'm good and purring and focused on my food, I allow her to leave without further harassment.

After eating, I'm energetic and ready to play. I head back to the bedroom where we usually play Stealth Kitty and call her. I make the meow really desperate because it makes her laugh. On workdays she usually can't play though, although she might take a minute or two for it. But she has the others to feed, and has to get ready to go. I try to be understanding. Before she leaves she'll stop to pet me goodbye. I arch my back, which usually makes me fall on my face. That gives me another minute of loving before she takes off.

I sleep all day. When she gets home I lurch out to greet her and get more attention. She seems to look forward to it, and if I don't come out, she comes looking for me. I give her a simple "hello" meow and then go into the kitchen. I'm hungry. Meow.