At this time of year I can feel the cold seeping in under the door and around the windows, and I am very glad I have a warm house to live in. My mother lived outdoors for several wintry weeks before I was born, and she told me they were the worst weeks of her life. When you meet a new human, she said, and if they give off kind smells instead of cruel and aggressive smells, be nice to them. They might just be your ticket to a happy life in a warm, dry home.
So that's what I did, and it worked out alright for me, although no one warned me about housemates. I wasn't sure how to relate to them at first, particularly as I'd had no litter mates, and they were frankly pretty hostile in the early days. But we got used to each other, and now we get along well enough. The humans worked out pretty well from the start. I was interested in what my mother advised about smelling them, though, and that go me thinking about other ways to understand humans better--hence this blog.
One may sometimes regret the wide open spaces and the delicious autonomy of a life independent of humans, but on cold days like this human-feline partnership is clearly a very good idea. I recommend it!
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| Housemates |
This morning my human informed me that today is my birthday.
This means, I am told, that I was born four years ago today. I'll admit I don't remember it.
Observing birthdays like this is a quaint and apparently harmless outgrowth of humans' obsession with time. A person celebrating a birthday gets special attention and sometimes gifts or special food. Sometimes they are encouraged to spend time doing what they most like to do. This sounds good to me!
So, what would I most like to do? Luckily, it is sunny today, so one of my favorite activities--Napping in the Sun--is available to me.
Another favorite--Looking out the Window--is more rewarding on a sunny day like this, so I'll try that later in the afternoon. It's amazing the sorts of things I see sometimes.
For gifts, I'll try spending a little extra time near my human, and maybe I'll get a few extra scratches behind the ears.
My human is planning to prepare special food today as well, but she says that's for Valentine's Day. I'm not sure what that is, or why it's on my birthday, but if I figure it out I'll let you know.
I posted recently about the dangers and stresses of toddlers. Now word has reached me of an even more alarming lifeform: dogs. They look like something to avoid at all costs!
My older housemate insists that dogs are not actually all that bad when you get to know them, but I think she's just showing off.
I have also been thinking back to my post on vacuum cleaners, particularly in light of my new experience with toddlers. If you are a human reading this blog, take this from me: it is pointless to vacuum your house before the toddler comes to visit. If you must vacuum, save it for afterward! And if you have a dog come to visit you, the same advice applies. Your cat may even forgive you for vacuuming if you do it after dog has gone. Anything to get that smell out of the house!
