Having a Cat in the House Again

In June of 2008, our beloved cat Marshie passed away after living nearly 18 years. She was a sweet, mellow, gentle soul. Think of her as a feline Mr. Rogers. Now there's a temporary cat in our household - think of him as a feline Marley.

We are catsitting our little (??) Grandkitty Oliver these days and it is quite entertaining for these empty nesters who are only used to each other's company on a regular basis. Oliver is like Maria in the Sound of Music: "a flibbety jibbet, a will of a wisp, a clown."

We can be sitting watching TV or reading a paper and suddenly there will be a flash of cat leaping over our couch, running through the kitchen and leaping the couch again - Oliver puts Tom Cruise to shame here!

We can be laying in bed when pounce we have a cat landing on our chests.

We can be eating at the table when whoosh a cat is on the table.

We can be going out the front door when swish a cat is squeezing between our legs to get outside - snow or no snow.

We can be reading or watching TV when Oliver starts "talking!" He is telling us things, we just don't know what messages he is wishing to convey. We have figured out the short barking (yes, they almost sound like barks cat-style!) noises probably request going outside. (Being the firm Grand-moew and Grand-paw that we are, we refuse as Anne and Jed have strongly urged this directive to "Just say no.")

And the long verbage as in meow, meowwww, mmeow, meoww, mmow, mmmow probably translates to, "Hello, folks, how the heck are you doing today? I am fine, but I miss my folks, my toys, and by the way, has anyone seen my rattle mouse? If it wouldn't trouble you too much, could you immediately stop what you are doing and give me some more play time?"

And Oliver takes more naps than a newborn baby! And just as short as baby naps, too. We have found him all over the house napping in new spots almost hourly. In baskets, in our bed, under the tree, on the couch...it doesn't seem to be his style to nap in the same place twice! We find he doesn't sit much, but flops to lay down as if sitting is too tedious - getting right down to relaxation by laying down first.

Oliver is, of course, a challenge to take pictures of when he's awake as he is constantly moving. I have deleted more blurry furry pictures than usual. I have wanted to get a picture of him with his head poking out of the new "playhouse" we gave him for Christmas. Isn't it cute?

I have tried to get him inside and head poking out and finally yesterday I did it!

But, today something happened that Anne and Jed will not like. They told us to limit the amount of food Oliver puts in his chops as he has a bit of tendency for a spreading mid-section. I won't comment here that someone else in our household also has to deal with this.

We left out Oliver's treat bag that looks a lot like chocolate and butterscotch chips when neighbors Hannah and Emily came to visit and didn't zip lock the bag well enough apparently. Overnight, Oliver found the bag and had a party and now there is a full belly and a happy cat...but G and G are in trouble. Wes found a few scattered chips in rooms on the first floor.

We know we are going to miss him when he goes back to live with his parents! Can we catsit him again soon, please? He keeps us laughing.