Tuxedo's Toys #33

I woke up this morning to a toy mouse next to my head. It was one of the newer toys I bought her a while ago. Clearly she left it there after I went to sleep. She does that so she’ll know where it is I guess.

Neither Tuxedo nor I can find her ratty toy mouse with the long string. It probably disappeared somewhere under something. I’ve looked for it. I don’t know where it is. Like my mother likes to say, it didn’t leave the house, so it must be in here someplace.

Her stolen mouse scares me. When she jumps on the bed with it in her mouth, it looks like a real mouse. I always scream when she brings it to me to play with her.

Looking Out for Tuxedo #32

The inevitable happened today. I tripped over Tuxedo. Rather, I apparently stepped on her because she gave out a giant yelp. I jumped, she ran, and I fell on my living room couch. Half on, half off, I was unable to get a good grip on the couch to stand up.

Did I say I fell like a ton of cement bricks?  As I am very overweight, I couldn’t get my fat carcass up from the couch. Of course, Tuxedo knew nothing about my arthritic knees preventing me from just standing up from a prone position. So she just grazed her arched back on my legs several times before she lay down beside me on the floor.

It took me over 15 minutes to get off the couch. I felt like a beached whale. My knees just couldn’t support the weight I was carrying to get me upright again. I finally took 3 giant breaths of air, held on to the end of the couch for Dear Life, and forced myself upright.

I was on my way to getting some water for my ibuprofen. Once I could stand up, I needed to get my balance back. Then I limped to the refrigerator, retrieved a bottle of water, and went painfully into bed.

I vow to rejuvenate my diet. For every ten pounds overweight it’s like 50-60 extra

pounds on the knees. I felt every overweight pound holding me down. I have a long way to go. Still, I have a good reason other than I need to lose weight. I suspect I have many years of tripping over Tuxedo ahead of me.

Tuxedo's Toys #31

I woke up this morning to a toy mouse next to my head. It was one of the newer toys I bought her a while ago. Clearly she left it there after I went to sleep. She does that so she’ll know where it is, I guess.

Neither Tuxedo nor I can find her ratty toy mouse with the long string. It probably disappeared somewhere under something. I’ve looked. I don’t know where it is. Like my mother likes to say, it didn’t leave the house, so it must be in here someplace.

Her “stolen” mouse from Angel scares me. When Tuxedo jumps on the bed with it in her mouth, it looks like a real mouse. I always scream when she brings it to me to play with her.

A Brushed Tuxedo #30

I noticed cat hair around the house as I swept the floor. I remembered that cats and dogs shed hair when it’s hot. I borrowed my niece’s cat brush for a minute.

At first Tuxedo battled me and the brush. She threw the brush around with her feet and tried to bite me. I persisted and soon she started to calm down and enjoy being brushed.

The other day she walked over and laid down all over my laptop. She’s never done this before. I guessed that she wanted more brushing. I took her off the laptop and brushed her. Her tail went wild with happiness.

Tuxedo laid down on the laptop one more time for a brushing. I guess you might wonder why she does that. I sometimes become consumed with my writing and work with a passion to get my ideas down on paper. She notices that and reacts in a manner that works for her. Sit smack dab on the laptop and get my attention. It works for both of us. I need to be taken away from working all the time. She deserves more time than I have been giving her lately. So when she wants attention, I give it to her willingly.

So I have a new Tuxedo. One that loves to be brushed and one with less hair to shed around the house like tumbleweeds.

Tuxedo is One Year Old - #29

On the 4^th of July Tuxedo turned a year old! I am so happy.

She is also a thief. She stole her buddy Angel’s only toy mouse. Brought it downstairs and plays with it to the exclusion of everything else. What happened to her beloved ratty toy mouse? I don’t know where it is. She lost it a while ago and I haven’t seen it. This new mouse is much larger. I think she likes it because of its size. It’s soft, and she can easily pick it up and carry it around.

My niece says Tuxedo can keep it. I was told the mouse has catnip in it. Everything is clear now. Tuxedo is a catnip junkie.

I still consider her a kitty because she has toddler ways. If I let her go on the back porch and hallway, she’ll always come back in and meows for me. Once she sees I am still in the house, she turns and goes back outside. Just like a toddler making sure mommy hasn’t taken off during her adventures.

I also love it when she lays flat on the floor, inviting me to rub her stomach. She loves it! She does it every chance she gets whenever I am sitting or walking from room to room. She lies down in front of every door threshold, looking at me to pet her. She seems to be doing it pretty often lately.

It only takes a moment to bond with your pet. Tuxedo is my cat, and I love her, thief and all.

Tuxedo's Ratty Toy Mouse #28

Tuxedo jumped on the bed and started to cry really mournfully, putting her paws on my arms. I knew she was trying to convey something to me. I didn’t know what it was, because I don’t speak cat.

She walked around meowing a lot, then silence. She jumped off the bed. A few minutes later, she brought one of her newer toy mice to me.

Clearly she was looking for her ratty mouse to play with me. I haven’t seen it for days. It’s somewhere in the house, either under or behind something. I’ll keep looking for it.

Don’t tell me cats don’t have feelings. They do.