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.
My web host did a service upgrade overnight, and somehow, all the comments left here disappeared. Here they are again:
From Marg:
Poor Allegra, we know you were lonely without Mom but at least you had some nice people coming by to see and feed you. That looks like a great new toy. Your Mom won a great award at the conference, so you should be very proud of her. Too bad you never knew Buckley. Take care and have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day
From Deborah:
Wonderful post Ingrid! My cats feel the same way about my “big black box”. I’ve started to sell my cards and art work at craft fairs and have discovered that my big suitcase on wheels is the perfect way to transport my work to the fairs. The only problem is that my cats seem to worry when I get the suitcase out.
From Bernadette:
Wow, Allegra, you’re a brave girl–all alone in the dark like that! At least we have each other! Our mom doesn’t go away very often either, but sometimes she’s gone for a WHOLE DAY and we all end up waiting in the front window. So far she’s always come back, and we hope your mom doesn’t pull that again!
From Layla:
Allegra, you’ve survived the “black box initiation”. In the future, you’ll know that when the black box comes out, your mom is going on a trip, but you’ll always be taken care of. May you and your mom enjoy a bountiful Thanksgiving!
From Mason:
A very brave girl (young lady) could was able to stay by herself at night. So glad you received a new toy. It looks fun.
BTW, I understand congratulations are in order for your mom. I heard Buckley’s Story won the 2010 Merial Human-Animal Bond Award at the cat writers conference. Hope you give her some extra attention for this.
Have a great Thanksgiving.
Mason
Please over look my wording above. I had a bit of help with that first line (Gum Drop). It should have read:
You were a very brave girl (young lady) to be able to stay by yourself at night.
Extra help always makes for fun words and sentences.
Mason
From Debbie:
Looks like it’s time to consider a sibling for Allegra to keep her company when you’re on those trips with the big black box…
Congratulations on the award! How cool!!!
From I HAVE CAT:
Sweet post! Nice to hear from Allegra! Wonderful meeting you in person INGRID! And congrats on the award. I wasn’t able to make it Sat night – pooped after the Cat Show!
Best,
Tamar
PS _ I like Debbie’s idea of a sibling! 🙂