We got a real treat today in Kitten World! Mom was wearing a skirt! This was perfect for playing Boy Scout Sleepover, Lawrence of Arabia and Guerilla Warfare!
She didn’t seem to be as amused as we were by this.
The Type of Help I usually Get Around the House
“I’m not ACTUALLY into something I shouldn’t be into. I’m just on my WAY to something I shouldn’t be into.”
Getting Organized!
Yesterday in Kitten World, Jenny and I did two hours of sorting and organizing in one of my basement rooms. We had help from Henry and Julius, the intrepid kitten stars of this blog!
Julius is curious, gentle, quiet and mostly dignified. Except when he remembers his newly discovered super power of Jumping! Yes, jumping is now a Thing for Julius. After many weeks and months of planning and observation, mainly that Henry seemed to be able to get up onto things Julius could only observe from ground level, which attracted yelling and rushing around from Mom, but seemed more interesting than whatever Julius could see from his vantage point, Julius suddenly was able to Jump! Up! Onto things! It’s amazing! He discovered the Final Frontier, where No Cat Has Gone Before.
It’s not a skill he has complete mastery of. Sometimes he needs momentum to make a big leap, and without that burst of speed, he’s stymied by something he was once, just one time, able to get up onto or over. He gets stuck and can’t figure out why.
And when he does make the leap and get over the barrier or up onto a great height, he has no control because he’s had so little practice. His landings need work.
But he felt up to the challenge yesterday and made an astounding leap from the floor up onto a stack of boxes and other things on top of a low table. But the things, assorted plastic organizing trays that don’t nest into one another, were loosely piled and couldn’t take his weight, so they all came crashing down onto the floor. Julius can’t stand making noise or a big mess, so he hit the ground running, kept on going and hid. He came back a few minutes later and tried another leap, but that resulted in a smaller but still distressing cascade, so he retreated to a safe distance to observe.
Meanwhile, Henry does not know the meaning of the terms “retreat or “safe distance,” so he was underfoot, into boxes, and generally being in the thick of things. As with most ginger cats I’ve known, he lacks the fear gene, and caution is also not part of his vocabulary. A good landslide can be just the thing to get the blood racing and the heart pumping! He was mainly curious, assessing the play potential of newly discovered items, or just wanting to be where the action is. Henry LIKES noise and commotion, especially if he’s making it! He’ll settle for any commotion made by anybody, though.
in spite of, or maybe because of, all the help we were getting, Jenny and I still managed to completely clear off a large table and part of another one and find homes for many items. This project caused a fair amount of excitement and interest in the entire cat population in my house. Fritzie LOVES it when I move furniture or rearrange things. It’s new and interesting, but not scary, just the right balance between novelty and security. She rushed back and forth, in and out, a few times, moving at a pretty good clip for an old girl.
All in all, a good day for all concerned.
Today in Kitten World 