Tag Archives: treats

22

Post-Christmas Cat Council

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     The day after Christmas, the cats gathered to discuss the Christmas goings-on. 

 

Snoops: Christmas 2025 seemed to go pretty well.

Sgt Stripes: I didn’t see any huge new cat tree. I thought we were supposed to get a new cat tree.

Onyx: I heard them talking. Apparently the little humans got some kind of present called bunk beds. The male human appears to be the only one who can put stuff together and that comes before the cat tree.

Angel: That’s not fair. There’s only two of them and five of us.

Gypsy: Will they make less noise if they get the new beds?

Angel: Ooh. I’d wait for that.

Onyx: What’s a bunk bed?

Sgt Stripes: I don’t know. But hopefully, they will stay in it later than the current beds. My morning routine has been ruined. I used to hang out with Mom in the morning on weekends. Now they’re up before I finish my first set of cuddles. And I used to be able to get a couple of rounds of treats. Now, I’m lucky if I get one.

Snoops: You don’t need extra treats, But the fewer cuddles are a problem.

Angel: They come downstairs and make noise too.

Gypsy: Good thing Blondie is still sleeping down here because of her foot surgery. Otherwise, we’d have to deal with them.

Snoops: I’m not sure new beds are the answer. Maybe they should have gotten some kind of snack bar. That one kid is always hungry.

Sgt Stripes: That would have been cool. We could have stored cat snacks in it too.

Onyx: The kid probably would have eaten those too.

Snoops: At least dinner was good.

Angel: Only if you eat human food.

Snoops: It was a big salmon in some kind of pastry. It was delicious. And they had cookies too. I fell asleep afterwards.

Sgt Stripes: They had something called eggnog too. I guess sometimes humans put other stuff in it, but ours was just some kind of cream. Very yummy.

Gypsy: I don’t really like lots of people. I stayed in my new favorite spot – a shelf in the pantry.

Angel: That is pretty sweet. Right above the heat.

Gypsy: It’s the perfect spot. There’s a chain on the door, so the little humans can’t get in. But I didn’t get to see most of Christmas. Did the humans like our presents?

Sgt Stripes: It didn’t turn out quite the way we hoped. It was hard to get on the computer. So we had to just add to the human order. I will say that Snoops did a fine job with our human brother. He got an ultra-plush, ultra-large cotton towel.

Snoops: I tested it after it got opened. It will be purr-fect for catnaps. To be fair, Sarge did a good job with our human sister Blondie. She got a plush robe with cat ears on the hood. Stylish, but really comfortable for laying on.

Gypsy: Sounds pawsome! What did you get Mom?

Snoops: Apparently Onyx didn’t understand the assignment. She got a lamp.

Onyx: What’s wrong with a lamp? It’s two cats that light up.

Angel: There isn’t anyplace for us to lay on.

Onyx: You can wrap around it. The bulb’s at the bottom. It should get warm. And she really likes it.

Angel: I’ll have to do the shopping when it’s time for her birthday.

Snoops: Anyway, that’s over. Now it’s time to choose our tree. I’m thinking that since it’s late, we should get something even better.

Sgt Stripes: Yeah. Maybe a place for treats.

Gypsy: I want real wood to sharpen my claws.

Angel: And plush beds.

Sgt Stripes: Time to talk to Mr Google again.

24

Onyx is NOT a Most Excellent Kitty

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Gypsy: It looks like someone wants to turn the Belleville Three into the Belleville Two.

Angel: What do you mean? We’re finally getting along. I haven’t hissed at you in a long time.

Gypsy: Not you. Onyx. She’s acting like she wants to break up the team.

Angel: She has been acting a little weird, even for her. I thought when Blondie got home she’d disappear upstairs. But she’s been sleeping on the freezer or the bag of paper towels.

Gypsy: She even comes out for breakfast.

Angel: Yeah, and she doesn’t even eat wet food. She’s got Mom trained to give her treats in the morning.

Gypsy: Did you see what happened this morning?

Angel: You mean sitting in the sink?

Gypsy: Mom gave her a bowl of water in the sink so she would stop licking the faucet. Like she’s too good to share with the rest of us.

Angel: She’s not used to sharing. She used to stay in Blondie’s room all the time. She had everything to herself.

Gypsy: She’s giving up a pretty sweet deal. She was always treated like she was better than us.

Angel: It’s strange that she’s started going outside too. She’s been an indoor kitty her whole life. 

Gypsy: It’s pretty rude, if you ask me. Blondie spent her time away missing Onyx, and now Onyx is pretty much ignoring her.

Angel: Can you believe that she got out last Friday, and no one realized that she wasn’t just being anti-social? In the past, there would have been a massive cat hunt until someone found her.

Gypsy: Yeah. She had to come back herself the next day. Blondie was pretty frantic looking for her.

Angel: In the humans’ defense, she got out when it was dark and no one saw her leave. It’s been crazy around here. 

Gypsy: And the small humans still need some training. The big humans know to close the inside porch door before they open the house door, but the little humans can’t see to get it coordinated when they come home.

Angel: And it takes forever for them to go in or out. One little human opens one door and keeps it open while the other one comes in. They don’t seem to understand they are part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Gypsy: Yesterday, one of them opened the door and went outside by himself when Mom drove up. Onyx was right behind him. Mom and Blondie had to track her down with treats. And she was really crabby when she got back in.

Angel: She is fast. And persistent. This morning Mom had to hold her back when our human brother went out. Twice.

Gypsy: Mom gave Onyx treats right before she left so she’d be preoccupied.

Angel: That’s a pretty good trick. She’s used it on Sarge too.

Gypsy: He’s not as dedicated to getting out as Onyx is.

Angel: I think Onyx is kinda dumb. It’s starting to get cold. Why would she want to go outside?

Gypsy: Agreed. The warm stuff is inside. And so is the food.

Angel: I wonder if she’s still Blondie’s favorite. She’s getting to be pretty high maintenance. She’s always been pretty annoying to the rest of us cats. Now she’s trying it on the humans.

Gypsy: Probably. She still has the small humans, and they are extremely high maintenance.

Angel: Good point. Onyx probably just enjoys seeing the humans chasing after her.

Gypsy: We are the only two who haven’t tried to escape this fall. That has to be good for our House Cat ranking.

Angel: Excellent point.

27

Sarge and Snoops’ Big Escape

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Gypsy Katt here. We had quite the drama last week. We started out with five cats on Monday home with Mom while the men finished working on the basement. When our human brother got home from work, he saw a large grey tabby streak across the yard and head into the woods next door. We were down to four kitties. (Or so we thought.)

Onyx: Pretty ironic. They kept me locked up, and Sgt Stripes made a run for it.

Sgt Stripes: I didn’t make a run for it. I sauntered out when I noticed the doors were open.

Gypsy: They were pouring something they called cement downstairs. They had to keep running back and forth between a noisy machine outside and the basement.

Sgt Stripes: I just wandered out. No one even paid any attention.

Gypsy: Humans are pretty careless sometimes. They thought that just because you’ve never seemed interested in going outside that you could roam around while the work was being done.

Angel: Yeah. They didn’t know how dumb you are.

Sgt Stripes: Hey! I’m not dumb. I wanted to visit my old hangouts.I know I have a pretty sweet deal here.

Angel: Then why did you run when your human came home.

Sgt Stripes: I think that was just a coincidence. I heard a really loud noise and took off.

Gypsy: All of the humans were pretty upset.

Onyx: Blondie even put it out on the community bulletin board.

Sgt Stripes: They should have just relaxed. I was just looking around.

Angel: You came back pretty quickly. One of the little humans went outside, and there you were. Blondie just had to pick you up.

Gypsy: That’s funny to watch. You’re a big kitty, and she’s not very big.

Sgt Stripes: It was extremely undignified. I would have walked in on my own if they would have waited.

Angel: You didn’t turn your nose up at the extra food and treats.

Sgt Stripes: I told you, I’m not dumb.

Snoops: At least they noticed you were missing.

Angel: I knew you weren’t around, but nobody listened to me.

Sgt Stripes: I tried to go back outside to get you, but they wouldn’t let me.

Snoops: I am the elder cat. The Empress of the House. And nobody noticed I was missing.

Gypsy: To be fair, you were only showing up for breakfast for a while there. You were spending most of your time in the basement.

Snoops: That’s what made it so awful. Those strangers invaded my safe space. And they made a lot of noise. I was just looking around when I ended up outside. Then there was a lot of noise, and then those strange humans closed the doors so I couldn’t get back in.

Angel: That sounds awful. Then what happened?

Snoops: I heard a loud noise and ran under the back porch. Next thing I knew it got dark and windy. After Sarge went back inside, it was just me. I heard the humans wandering around a little bit, but they didn’t hear me. I had to sleep out there.

Gypsy: Mom finally figured out that you weren’t in the house when she went downstairs and looked in your litter spot. Nothing was there. She was really upset. She went outside and called a little bit, but you didn’t respond.

Snoops: I didn’t hear her. She was in front of the house.

Gypsy: It was pretty sad. She was trying to work when she heard a car honk in the road. She went out and saw something in the road. False alarm: It was just a bunch of paper. But she went around the back of the house and started calling.

Snoops: I heard her calling, so I meowed. She heard me, but kept calling. I kept calling back. She finally got to where she could see me and she brought me back inside.

Gypsy: You’re a lot smaller than Sarge, so it wasn’t a big deal.

Sgt Stripes: But Mom insisted on locking both of us in different rooms while the workers were there.It was awful.

Onyx: She put you in her bedroom. She keeps food, water and a litter box in there. How tough could it have been.

Snoops: Yeah. I got put in the bathroom because it’s one of my safe places. You had a bed and a cat tree.

Sgt Stripes: I do not like being told what to do.

Gypsy: It’s your own fault. You should have been a good kitty and stayed inside like Angel and me.

Snoops: All’s well that ends well. At least the repairmen are finally gone.

23

House Cat Update: This Place is a Mess

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 The cats have been having a rough few days. At least they think so.

Gypsy: I can’t believe Mom deserted us for three nights last week.

Sgt Stripes: My special treats were totally messed up. I have Mom trained to do it a certain way.

Gypsy: Worse than that. Angel thinks she can boss me around when Mom’s not here.

Sgt Stripes: I think she’s made some kind of pact with Snoops. Every time I see Angel, she hisses at me.

Gypsy: She’s just rude. Ignore her

Sgt Stripes: Mom does a really good job of keeping the peace. She shouldn’t be allowed to leave us. Where was she?

Snoops: Don’t you guys listen at all? She was having a sale at her uncle’s house. She needs to get rid of all the stuff so she can sell the house.

Sgt Stripes: I forgot. I liked him. He was always nice to me when I was outside.

Snoops: He was really nice to Kommando and me too. He played with the red dot with us.

Gypsy: That’s sad. Did they sell all of his stuff?

Angel: I think they must have. Look at the stuff that came here. It’s all over the dining room.

Snoops: Mom says that they still have to sell the stuff in his basement. He has all kinds of tools and electronics stuff and kitchen supplies down there.

Gypsy: But she won’t have to stay overnight anymore right?

Angel: I hope not. Those little humans were pretty good about feeding us, but the cuddles were definitely missing.

Onyx: I think you guys are out of luck. I heard Blondie say something about Mom going to Denver next week for work.

Snoops: That can’t be right. She doesn’t travel for this job.

Onyx: I dunno. Blondie said she was dropping her off on Wednesday and picking her up on Friday.

Sgt Stripes: Mr Google says that means she’ll be gone for two overnights. She can’t do that to us! Things haven’t gotten back to normal yet.

Snoops: Well, a lot of that has to do with the strange men that keep coming over.

Gypsy – Yeah. They’ve blocked off the basement. That was my escape when the rest of you were annoying me.

Sgt Stripes (hurt): You don’t mean me, do you?

Gypsy: No, you’re okay. But certain other cats get pretty territorial sometimes.

Angel: Only when you get into my territory.

Gypsy: At least I have a nice high perch. It’s even better than the mantel or china cabinet. It has Cat TV.

Sgt Stripes: So who are the men?

Snoops: You know how Gypsy kept coming upstairs with orange paws and getting it everywhere?

Angel: She was pretty disgusting.

Gypsy: That’s because there was orange water in the basement.

Sgt Stripes: More like orange sludge.

Snoops: Whatever. The humans need to get some plumbing work done in the basement. But before they can do that, the orange stuff has to go.

Sgt Stripes: I heard something about mold too. I know what that is, but Mom’s allergic to it. She’s really excited it’sai going away.

Angel: I don’t really mind the men. They stay downstairs and don’t make too much noise.

Onyx: Sometimes Sarge or I will watch them from the upstairs windows. .

Sgt Stripes: They’re not very interesting. They just carry stuff in and out.

Gypsy: I hope they’re gone soon. And I hope they didn’t take my hiding places.

Snoops: You know the plumbing guys have to come back, right?

Gypsy: They’re okay. They don’t keep me out of the basement.

Sgt Stripes: Why are we still talking about the basement? We have to do something about this Denver thing. I don’t want Mom to think she can just leave whenever she wants to.

The rest of the cats nod in agreement.

25

Snoops: Tails from the Homefront

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Greetings feline friends and others.It’s been awhile since we updated our continuing struggle to peacefully coexist. We had over a week of total peace and calm (no hissing, growling or swatting). Then Mom ruined everything by commenting on it. The past two days have been kinda rough.

Snoops: Sgt Stripes and I are living in harmony, more or less. But sometimes, he just seems so annoying that I have to growl at him.

Angel: I totally agree. There’s something. We just can’t put our paws on what the real problem is.

Sgt Stripes: The problem is that you ladies are hyper-sensitive. I don’t do anything, but I get growled at and have to avoid the whappy paw.

 

Snoops: You’re not totally innocent. You still try to chase us once in a while.

Sgt Stripes: A little exercise wouldn’t hurt you.

Snoops: Excuse me? A little exercise? You treat us like prey.

Sgt Stripes: It really gets your heart pumping. It’s good for you.

Snoops: I will exercise when and how I choose.

Gypsy: I get to watch all the action. I pretty much get along with everyone.

Snoops: I like you well enough, but you have really weird sleeping habits.

Gypsy: What do you mean?

Snoops: You find a spot, and it’s like you’re glued to it. You only move to eat and use the litter box.

Gypsy: So what? You have favorite spots.

Snoops: Yeah. But my favorite spots are always my favorite spots. You choose a place, won’t move for a few weeks, then find a new favorite spot that you won’t leave. And you never go back to the previous favorite spots.

Gypsy: I keep looking for the perfect spot.

Angel: A perfect spot doesn’t exist. The small humans have free run of the house.

Sgt Stripes: I like the small blonde one. He gives out excellent treats.

Snoops: And lots of them.

Gypsy: But they are really loud.

Angel: I wonder if they have a volume control. Like the television.

Gypsy: That would be excellent.

Snoops: Did you notice Blondie has invaded our space on the first floor?

Angel: I did. She’s taken over the good spot on the sofa.

Snoops: Yeah. She can’t walk for a couple of weeks.

Sgt Stripes: Does she have a bad paw?

Snoops: She’s a human. She doesn’t have paws. But if she did, it would be one of the back paws. She had something similar 10 years ago. Can you believe how cute I still look on her scooter?

Angel: That is pretty cool.

Gypsy: Where’s her cat?

Onyx: You mean me? I’m still hanging out upstairs. I’m the Empress of the Night.

Gypsy: Shouldn’t you be with your human?

Onyx: I stayed with her all last summer when she was depressed. I’m sitting this one out. She’ll be back upstairs in a couple of weeks. She has plenty of cats downstairs.

Gypsy: That seems kinda harsh.

Onyx: Snoops told me about the importance of having a back-up human in case something happens to your primary human. And I found a great wool blanket in Mom’a room. I’m going to hang out here until Blondie comes back up.

Sgt Stripes: Sounds like the rest of us will have to take turns watching Blondie.

Angel: Yeah. She has to get better so we get the living room back.

 

29

Cat Council: January 2025

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Snoops: I called this council meeting to discuss how the integration of our household is progressing.

Sgt Stripes: I haven’t seen any fights or fur flying.

Gypsy: There’s still some growling and hissing.

Angel: That’s just you.

Gypsy: It is not. Besides, I need to keep you away from my food. You did try to starve me last year.

Angel: It’s not my fault we didn’t get enough food when we were staying in the sunroom.

Gypsy: You are almost everything we got.

Snoops: Ladies, that’s old news. You need to move on.

Gypsy: What’s your excuse with Sgt Stripes? You growl at him every time he walks by.

Snoops: We have a history. He tried to eat Kommando Kitty when he moved in.

Sgt Stripes: I didn’t try to eat her. I was just trying to play.

Angel: Snoops has a right to keep him at paw’s length.

Sgt Stripes: It’s gotten better. Snoops hasn’t growled at me in two days.

Snoops: You seem to be slightly less annoying.

Sgt Stripes: We all eat breakfast together now.

Angel: Except Onyx. She thinks she’s too good for us.

Onyx: I don’t dislike you. I just don’t see any point in coming downstairs. I have everything I want upstairs.

Sgt Stripes: She does come down for treats sometimes.

Angel: Not since she started getting extra treats upstairs from the blonde kid.

Snoops: We really don’t see much of her.

Onyx: Well, I am pretty busy with my new position. I am the upstairs reading coordinator for the bedtime books for the small humans.

Gypsy: I thought you were an emotional support cat.

Onyx: I am. But since you and Sgt Stripes decided to stay downstairs, there really isn’t another cat to supervise.

Snoops: And we all know the humans need supervision. Especially the little ones.

Gypsy: That reminds me, we need to talk to Thomas Tabby. He’s supposed to be the liaison with the humans. We got that automatic litter box for Christmas and it still isn’t plugged in.

Sgt Stripes: They said something about a cat urinating in the electrical outlet that it was supposed to be plugged into. They want to put it in the utility room where one of the old litter boxes is.

Angel: I don’t want an electric litter box. That sounds scary. What if it eats one of us?

Sgt Stripes: They said it had been tested and is safe. I can’t believe that was our big Christmas present.

Angel: The toys were pretty cool.

Gypsy: I found out that Mom didn’t finish Prince Arthur’s blanket in time for Christmas. So I claimed it.

Snoops: Who’s Prince Arthur?

Sgt Stripes: You know. He lives with that woman who comes here to see our human brother.

Snoops: That’s right. I have enough trouble keeping the cats here straight. I forgot there was another cat involved with things. At least he doesn’t live here.

Angel: We do seem to be at cat capacity. At least I have a good sleeping spot next to the heater.

Sgt Stripes: And we do have a lot of places to snuggle up in.

Snoops: So everyone is pretty content? Meeting adjourned.

16

Free Range Cats

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Snoops: Quiet down, everyone. I called this meeting of the Cat Council to figure out what we’re going to do with this week’s blog post.

Sgt Stripes: What does Mom want to do?

Snoops: That’s the problem. She’s been so busy watching the little humans for the past couple of weeks that I think she might have broken her brain.

Onyx: How do you break your brain? Is it permanent?

Snoops: I think it’s just an expression for when humans get really tired and don’t want to think anymore.

Sgt Stripes: Maybe we could write about how mean the lady cats are to me. All I want to do is play.

Angel: I thought that was going to get better when you got to come downstairs.

Sgt Stripes: I did too. The humans told me that you were a nice kitty. But you hiss at me every time I walk by.

Angel: Not every time. Some times I ignore you.

Sgt Stripes: I really wanted to be able to roam the whole house. But it’s really not working out the way I thought it would. I thought it was going to be great with all the extra space.

Snoops: It is kind of weird how it’s working out. Only three of us are even moving between the upstairs and downstairs.

Gypsy: I really like it upstairs. It’s more space than I’ve ever had. I don’t see any reason to go exploring. I have everything I need up there.

Angel: And I feel the same way about being downstairs. Everything I might need is on one floor.

Onyx: You guys should really move around more. I love being able to sleep on one of the beds upstairs and then go downstairs and roam around. There are a lot of places to jump.

Sgt Stripes: Onyx is right. The really good jumping opportunities are downstairs.

Gypsy: I have plenty of spots to jump onto upstairs. I feel much more secure staying upstairs right now. Maybe I’ll go downstairs at some point, but I’m happy with the way things are.

Snoops: The part that really bugs me is how messed up the feeding schedule is. I know that Mom still serves the wet food before she goes to work, but sometimes I’m still in the basement because there’s a crowd.

Angel: She’s right. That big tabby cat is always lying in the kitchen.

Snoops: And he doesn’t even like wet food.

Sgt Stripes: I want to make sure I don’t miss out on anything. The kitchen is the center of everything that happens in the morning.

Snoops: Our household is not that exciting. What do you think you might miss?

Sgt Stripes: I don’t know, but something good might happen. And I want to be in the center of all the good stuff.

Snoops: Treats have gotten really messed up. It used to be that Sarge and I both got treats in the morning.

Sgt Stripes: Yeah, but those Belleville cats want treats all the time. Onyx even knows how to open all of the containers.

Onyx: I always share the bounty with you.

Sgt Stripes: That’s true. I can’t complain about that. But I wish you liked other flavors. Creamy dairy is getting old.

Gypsy: You shouldn’t complain. Since you’re getting your treats downstairs, the humans forget about me sometimes.

Angel: That’s terrible! Maybe Onyx can teach you how to get your own..

Gypsy: Ooh. That’s a good idea!

Sgt Stripes: Sometimes I get double treats. One time with Snoops and one time with Onyx.

Onyx: Yeah. Mom isn’t very good about keeping track of when we get treats. We can usually get them twice a day if she’s really busy.

Snoops: That reminds me. Mom is pretty upset that no one is sleeping with her now that we can go wherever we want. She says she’s getting lonely.

Sgt Stripes: Why don’t you sleep with her?

Snoops: I don’t really go upstairs in the hot weather. What about you?

Sgt Stripes: I prefer to watch out the window. I want to keep everyone safe.

Angel: We’re all getting used to the new set-up. I bet Mom will have company when it gets colder.

The cats all nod and decide that life is pretty good.

Sgt Stipes: Time for a kibble break.

20

Cats in the Doghouse

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Hi everybody! It’s me, Onyx. The beautiful black house panther. I’ve been having a great time since they opened up the house a couple of weeks below. We all now have full run of the house. No more upstairs cats and downstairs cats. It’s just cats. I love it. I can go where I want, when I want. I”m still Blondie’s therapy cat, but now I can get treats downstairs from Mom too.

Sgt Stripes is enjoying the freedom too. He’s upstairs part of the time and downstairs part of the time. He particularly loves the downstairs windows. Snoops is upstairs part of the time now. The only ones that aren’t taking advantage of the extra space are Gypsy and Angel. Gypsy stays upstairs and Angel stays downstairs. Hopefully they’ll be moving around soon.

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Mom isn’t too sure about the new arrangement. We cats are adapting to each other at our own pace, but there have been a few hiccups. I’ll tell you about a few of them.

The Crime: Hissing at Sgt Stripes whenever he comes near.

The Criminal: Angel.

The Excuse: I want to make sure he doesn’t attack me or try to play pounce with me.

The Crime: Playing pounce on unsuspecting cats

The Criminal: Sgt Stripes

The Excuse: I just want someone to place with. I can’t believe I’m living with four other cats and no one wants to play with me.

The Crime: Growling at Sgt Stripes whenever he comes near.

The Criminal: Snoops

The Excuse: I will never forgive him for scaring Kommando Kitty by running after her and pouncing

The Crime: Chewing through a bag of treats and opening a canister of treats

The Criminal: Onyx

The Excuse: I was hungry and those are my favorite thing to eat.

The Crime: Cornering Snoops on the litter box.

The Criminal: Gypsy

The Excuse: I was just watching. I wasn’t going to touch her.

The Crime: Eating Snoops wet food if Snoops saves some for later.

The Criminal: Angel.

The Excuse: I want to make sure nothing is wasted.

The Crime: Licking everyone’s wet food before the owner can eat it.

The Criminal: Sgt Stripes

The Excuse: I keep hoping I’ll find some that I like.

The Crime: Hiding in rooms that are normally closed off (e.g., the front porch and the study).

The Criminal: Snoops

The Excuse: I need peace and quiet. No matter where I go, there’s another cat.

The Crime: Knocking things off the shelves and dressers

The Criminal: Gypsy

The Excuse: I’m trying to make the house less cluttered.

Coming Next Week: The Great Debate:            

30

The Great Kibble Caper

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Snoops here. Something nefarious is going on around here. And I mean to get to the bottom of it. Back in the good old days, Kommando and I got morning canned food and a never-ending supply of kibble. It was pretty pawsome. But some of you might remember that our new housemates took a fancy to our food and tried to eat it themselves. I’m talking about the humans, not the new cats.

So Mom tried to feed us early and take up our wet food when the small humans were around. It was pretty rough for awhile. If we didn’t eat our canned food when it was put down, it just disappeared. No more leaving a little for a mid-morning snack. And the never-ending kibble was only available at night. Not even close to being never-ending.

It was rough, but we adapted. We made Mom give us treats in the morning before she left for work. Fortunately, the small humans never got a taste of our treats, so those were pretty safe. And Kommando didn’t like to have the same treats every day, so we got a good variety. If she got bored, I’d get her treats after she walked away. It was actually a pretty sweet set-up.

Then, sadly, Kommando crossed the Rainbow Bridge to the Big Kibble Bowl. Mom and our human brother took the opportunity to re-assess the situation. Our human brother saw some kind of report or study or something that said how much kibble a cat should have by weight. Next thing we know, he’s saying that me and Sgt Stripes were getting too much kibble and he wanted to do something called “portion-control”.

We thought we were starving. And how dare he say that we were eating too much! Now I’m sharing my canned food with Gypsy every morning. But something weird is going on with the kibble. They keep one bag upstairs and one bag downstairs. Downstairs, I share with Angel. But I don’t think she really eats much. Upstairs, Sgt Stripes and Gypsy share a bowl, and our human sister has a community kibble bowl for Onyx and the other two cats up there.

But we’ve all been talking about it. The humans say they are filling the bowls daily. But the bowls are pretty much always empty. And we’re hungry.Our human brother insists that we are getting enough to eat. But if he’s feeding us enough, why are we always hungry?

You might remember that a couple of years ago, Kommando solved a mystery in The Big Catnap. You can read it here and here. So I tried to think like Kommando. But it made my brain hurt. She was a sweet kitty, but her logic eluded me sometimes.

I decided to talk it over with Sgt Stripes. The humans are convinced that he was Kommando’s nephew. (Kommando and his mom looked a lot alike. And they may have both been dropped off on our property at the same time.) He said that he wasn’t taking my kibble. He said everything seemed to be normal in the bowl in Mom’s room. He and Gypsy were sharing pretty nicely. But the community kibble bowl seemed to empty pretty quickly sometimes.

Hmm. So the two bowls that were out in the open were losing kibble. That means it wasn’t a cat doing it. Unless somehow Angel was getting out at night and raiding the other bowls. Probably not.  Even if she could get out of her room, the door to the upstairs is always shut. Except when that small human leaves it open. But Sgt Stripes and Gypsy try to come downstairs when that happens. And that usually alerts our human sister to go up and close it.

Think. Think. We’ve ruled out the cats and the adult humans. That only leaves the small humans. And they’re not eating our food anymore. But wait…

The smallest human is always looking for something to fill the containers he carries around. I mostly avoid him. He actually pets pretty well, but he is kinda loud and runs around a lot. But let me check it out.

I got near to him and he offered me the measuring cup he had. I sniffed. It was half full of kibble! I am reporting this to Mom immediately! Something must be done. We’re on starvation rations,, and he’s stealing them. She needs to fix this now!

15

Snoops: A Day in the Life

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Hello Everyone. It’s me, Snoops. Since Kommando Kitty and Sgt Stripes have been writing posts, I thought you might be interested in learning a little bit more about me. After all, I am senior cat and chief defender of hearth and home around here. I am head mouser and Kommando’s protector. Here’s what my average day looks like:

 

Early Morning

Long before it’s light, I’m up and on the job. The early hours are the prime time for mousing around here. The best place to find them is the pantry. They love the chocolate chips and nuts that Mom keeps for baking. She finally got smart and started putting those things in plastic containers, but the mice still hang around that part of the pantry. I also need to patrol the study and dining room on a daily basis.

I usually leave the mice for Mom and Human Brother (HB). They are TERRIBLE hunters. They think it’s a sign of affection, but I really am trying to keep them from starving. Kommando is also bad at hunting; she thinks mice are toys. Everyone once in a while, I’ll snack on one, but the food is pretty good here.

Morning

Eventually, I hear Mom moving around upstairs. I am not pleased that I no longer have full run of the house. I wish they would finish training Sgt Stripes. The last time he got downstairs, I had to bop him on the head to keep him in line. He runs around like he owns the place.

After what seems like forever, she finally comes downstairs. I jump on the table for morning cuddles then wait for breakfast. She found some new food, that is better than I expected. We’d been eating the old stuff for YEARS and were so bored. Then I join her at the breakfast table for more pets and cuddles before work. She’s pretty well trained. Sometimes I have to share the space with Kommando Kitty. Luckily HB is usually there and can do some of the cuddles.

Right before Mom leaves for work, we get treats. Kommando is really pushy, so she always gets hers first. That’s okay, because she only eats them part of the time. So I get double treats a lot of the time. Sometimes HB leaves after Mom, but he works really weird hours so it seems like he’s around a lot.

Days

HB usually goes upstairs after Mom leaves. So I sometimes chase Kommando around a little bit, but most of the time I settle in for a nice nap. This time of year is great because there are a lot of sun puddles. It hasn’t been really hot in Michigan, so it is very pleasant.

Eventually HB comes back downstairs. Usually to work in the kitchen. Mom says he’s a really good cook, but I’m not sure I agree. Once in a while, he makes tuna and shares with us. That’s really pawsome. But most of the time, his food is revolting. Lots of beans and non-meat stuff. If he does make chicken or fish, you usually can’t find it because of the other stuff he mixes in. I always have to supervise; I keep hoping he’s going to surprise us.

Sometimes HB cleans. That’s not much fun. He’s really loud and moves stuff all over. I have to watch my tail. And his feet. He has almost stepped on me. On the bright side, he usually finds missing toys. I don’t really like to supervise cleaning. I usually look for a place to hide. If he doesn’t vacuum, I can nap or play with Kommando. She’s a good sister – not great – but good.

Days are usually a combination of snacking, napping, bird/wildlife watching, playing with or without Kommando, and supervising the human.

Evenings

Mom gets home around dinner time. Since HB cooks, we wait at the table with her. We help her read email and respond to messages. I don’t know how she’d get anything done without us. Between the three of us (Mom, Kommando, and me), we take up the whole side of the table.

We usually hang around while they eat. I’m not sure why. Like I said, most of the food is barely edible. But I don’t want to take a chance on missing something. Every once in a while, there’s a baked fish in the middle of all of the beans and greens. And chicken shows up fairly often. Besides, they’d be lonely without us.

After dinner, we all hang out in the living room. I usually sit with HB, and Kommando sits with Mom. The humans read or do computer stuff. Sometimes they watch TV. I don’t really like TV, but it does leave their hands free for petting. I usually nap for a while.

Nights

After they go upstairs, I’ll nap for a while longer. Then it’s snack time again. Then more napping before it’s time to wake up for another day.