Month: November 2010

Allegra’s World: When Mom Goes Away

Allegra's World| 2 Comments

I’m back already!  Remember that big black box I was telling you about that showed up in our bedroom, and Mom was putting her clothes in it?  Well, it turned out that the big black box is not a good thing.   The morning after the big black box showed up, Mom left the house and took it with her.  At first, I didn’t think anything of it – after all, she’s left the house before and took things with her.  She always takes a purple bag with her when she goes, even though I sometimes try to lay right in front of it so she can’t get to it!  Anyway, I thought maybe she’d just gotten bored with her purple bag and took the big black box instead.

But when Mom’s friend Renee came to visit around lunchtime, I knew something wasn’t right.  Any other time Renee comes over, Mom is here, too.   But Renee is really fun, she loves kitties, and she played with me and gave me treats and hung out with me, so that was cool.  After Renee left,  I took a nice long nap and didn’t wake up again until it got dark.  Mom still hadn’t come home.  I was just starting to get a little worried when Ronnie came to visit.  Ronnie is Mom’s friend and Mom said she’s also a pet sitter.  I don’t know what that means, and it sounded a little scary.  Does she sit on pets?  Mom said she comes to take care of people’s cats when the people can’t be there to do it themselves.  I don’t really understand that – why can’t the people just stay home?  But Ronnie is a nice person and she, too, loves kitties, so I was glad to see her.  And best of all, she served me dinner as soon as she got there, and I was pretty hungry, so that got the visit off to a good start.  Ronnie played with me after I ate, she brushed me, and she gave me treats.  Okay, this was good.

But then, after Ronnie left, I got a little scared.  Mom still wasn’t home, and even though I can’t tell time, I knew it was way past when we usually go to bed together.  I finally went to bed by myself and eventually went to sleep, but it wasn’t the same without Mom there.  When I woke up, it was light out again, and Mom still wasn’t home!  Where was she?

Thankfully, just as I was starting to get really worried, Ronnie came by again and served me breakfast.  Whew!  At least I wasn’t going to starve!  She played with me again, and that was nice, but where was my Mom?  Anyway – I don’t want to bore you, but this went on for three more days.  I had a good time with Ronnie and Renee, who came by to visit a few more times, too, but I was getting pretty lonely.  I’m used to having my Mom around a lot!

When I heard a key in the door again on Sunday night, I figured it was going to be Ronnie again, but it was Mom!  She was back!!!  I was so happy!!! I rolled around on the floor for her and I even let her pick me up and hug me and kiss me, I was so relieved!  My Mom was home!!!  I followed her everywhere while she took stuff out of the big black box and put it away where it belongs.  I hissed at the big black box a couple of times for good measure.  By the time Mom sat down to have dinner, I had exhausted myself and I knew I needed a nap, but I was so worried that Mom would leave me again, I laid down on her feet and went to sleep there.  That way, I could be sure she couldn’t even get up without me knowing about it.

Turns out she went to something called a cat writers conference.  I don’t understand why I couldn’t go with her.  After all, I’m a cat writer, too!  She did bring back some fun new toys.  My favorite is this pole thing with a dragonfly attached to it – I love playing with it, it’s so fun. Wee!!!  It’s my favorite toy yet!  You can see me playing with it in the video below.

She also brought a bunch of other toys, she thinks I didn’t see her sneak them into the extra bedroom I’m not allowed in.  I heard her say something to someone on the phone about “rationing the toys and breaking them out gradually” – no doubt this is some fancy human speak for spoiling my fun!

Now things are back to normal again, and I hope the big black box stays hidden in the closet for a long, long time.  I don’t like it when Mom goes away.

Allegra’s World: Scaring Mom

Allegra's World| 16 Comments

It’s about time I get to write something again!  Life has been very good here.  Remember that lap thing I told you about last time?  I did it again one more time, and I really liked it again that time.  I know it made Mom happy.  I like making Mom happy.  I know it also makes her happy that I started sleeping snuggled up very close against her at night.  I’m guessing she thinks it’s because I just want to be close to her, and I do, but honestly, it’s also because it’s been kind of cold at night, and Mom makes a really nice heater!

I’m getting smarter every day, if I do say so myself.  That’s because I’m not a a kitten anymore, I’m all grown up now!  A couple of weeks ago, I learned something really cool:  I figured out how to open the kitchen cabinet under the sink.  I managed to stick my paw in, and make it open a little ways before it banged shut again.  It made a very interesting noise.  I especially like doing this when I get bored with sleeping with Mom in the middle of the night, or really really early in the morning.  It’s so fun!

And then, the other day, I figured out something even cooler!  Mom was off on what she calls errands – I have no idea what that means, all I know is that when she does it, she leaves the house.  I managed to get one of the cabinets all the way open, and I climbed inside.  There wasn’t much that looked interesting in there, though, but I liked the feeling of being in a cave, so I decided to take a nap in there.  I really liked it in there!

I heard Mom come home, and I heard her call my name, but I was so comfy in my little cave, I decided to stay in there a bit longer.  Mom kept calling my name, and her voice got louder and louder, and started to sound a little bit funny, kind of shaky and not like anything I’ve ever heard from her.  I figured the best thing to do was keep a low profile and just stay in my cave.  Eventually, Mom stopped hollering, and finally she opened the cabinet door.  I smiled at her – she found me!  My Mom is smart, too!  I got up and walked out of the cabinet, only to be swooped up by Mom and nearly being squished to death!  She was crying and saying things like “oh my goodness, kitten, I thought I had lost you!”  What???  Lost?  I knew I wasn’t lost.  I knew exactly where I was!  Humans are so silly.

Mom says I took twenty years off her life that morning.  And ever since then, I haven’t been able to get into the cabinets.  Drats.  I liked my little cave.  And I’ll tell you something Mom doesn’t know, so don’t tell her:  I had been inside that cabinet before…

Today, some strange things are happening here.  Mom brought a big black box into the bedroom, and she’s putting some of her clothes in it.  I don’t understand why, usually, she just wears the clothes, or else, they hang in the closet, which, by the way, is another place I like to explore that Mom doesn’t like me to be in.  Anyway, this putting clothes in the box thing is a bit puzzling.  But the big box looks like it might make a good napping spot, especially with all the clothes in there.  I think I’ll give it a try.