Wednesday 22 November 2017

the sweet spot

"Whatcha doin' there, Toby?  Waitin' for Christmas?"

My sister, Tobias, turned toward me.   She stared at me for a moment before rollin' her eyes.  "Don't be ridiculous," she said.  "Christmas is a whole month away."

"Then you've got a long wait ahead of you.  Ba-dum-bump.  MOUSES!"

Toby let out a loud sigh.  "You're such a marmie," she said.

"Hey!  Don't diss the marmies."  I thought for a moment.  "Hmmm...  Don't diss the short-haired marmalade cats like me, that is.  You wanna diss those long-haired marmie freak brothers of mine, you go right on ahead.  MOUSES!"

Toby and I sat there for a moment, not knowin' what to say.  I looked up at the ceilin'.  I saw her lookin' down at the floor.  Finally, I asked, "So anyway, what are you doin'?  You never did say."

"I'm waiting," she answered.  She sounded bored.

"I knew it.  You ARE waitin' for Christmas, just like I said."

"No Seville.  I'm waiting for treats."

"Treats?  Why didn't you say so?  In that case, I'll wait right here with you," and I settled down beside my little sister.  "So uh...  Where are the treats?"

"They haven't appeared yet," was her reply.

"Appeared?  As in uh...  Well uh..."  I hesitated.  "Like magic?"

Toby thought for a moment.  "I wouldn't call it magic, exactly.  Peep #1 isn't a magician, is she?" she asked.

"Well I've never seen her pull a rabbit out of a hat.  But then, she wears the wrong kinda hats.  Ba-dum-bump.  MOUSES!"

Toby and I both got a chuckle out of that.

"So uh...  Might I assume," I began again, "that you're waitin' for treats from the peep?"

Toby nodded affirmatively.

"I never just sit around, waiting for the peep," I explained.  "I go get her when I need treats.  And meow.  Loudly.  The louder, the better, for sure.  And if that doesn't work, I jump up on the counter and help myself."

"I know," said Toby, through pursed lips.

"Then why don't you do the same?" I asked.

"The kitchen counter is too high for me to jump onto," she answered.  "I'm just a little cat, unlike you."

"Hmmm...  That's true.  You want me to jump up onto the counter for you?" I offered.

"No, I'll wait."

So we sat there, my sister and I, for a good long time - at least five minutes or so - before I got to my paws.  "Toby," I said, "this waitin' is for the birds.  I'm gonna jump up onto the counter and get us some treats."

"Honestly Seville, there really is no need.  Peep #1 will appear shortly, and when she d..."

"Appear as in magic?" I interrupted.

"No," Toby shook her head.  "As I previously stated, there's no magic involved.  Peep #1 will come into the kitchen before we know it, and when she does, she will give me some treats."

"Are you sure?" I asked.  "Are you really, really sure?  'Cause first of all, we've already been sittin' here for at least seven minutes now, and there's still no sign of the peep.  And even if she does appear soon, there's no guarantee that when she does, she'll give us treats.  Especially if you're just sittin' there like you are.  I mean, you're just sittin'!  Sittin' doin' nothin'.  Nothin' but sittin'," and for emphasis, I sat right back down on my butt.

"I'm not just sitting here, Seville.  Well yes, I suppose I am.  But," and she smiled somewhat knowingly, "do you realize where it is that I'm sitting?"

I looked first to my right, and then to my left, before answering.  "Uhhh...  the kitchen?"

Shaking her head, Toby asked, "How do you get yourself dressed in the morning?  Oh, that's right, you don't."

"Neither do you," I scowled.  "Fess up, little sister of mine.  How do you get treats to magically appear for you, just by sittin' here in the kitchen?  MOUSES!"

"I'm not sitting just anywhere in the kitchen," she answered.  "This," and she pawed at the floor, "is the sweet spot."

I narrowed my eyes.  "Sweet spot?  What the mouses is a sweet spot?  A spot where there's candy and stuff?  You're a cat, Toby.  Cats don't eat candy.  We eat treats."

Tobias let out another loud sigh.  "The sweet spot, Seville, is the best place for..."

And at that very moment, Peep #1 walked into the room.  "Oh hello there, Toby," she said.  "Hi sweetie," she added, looking at me.  "Are you two wanting some treats?" and she reached over to the counter, and opened up a bag of our favourite tempting morsels, before placing a few on the floor before each of us.

"Well I'll be...  It IS like magic," I said.

"Not magic," Toby replied, swallowing her first treat.  "As I told you before, this is the sweet spot.  Whenever Peep #1 sees me sitting here, right in this very spot, she gives me treats.  It works every time."

"I. Never. Knew.  MOUSES!"

I was about to stomp my paws and loudly complain - complain about having wasted so much time and energy findin' the peep on so very many occasions - when I thought better of doin' so, and instead, quietly munched on a treat.  After all, if the sweet spot worked as well as Toby was claiming it did, it was far better to ixnay on the complaints, and simply rest in the knowledge that now I, Seville the Cat, also knew of its existence.  I know knew where to sit and wait for the magical appearance of treats.  Clearly,Toby had trained the peep well, and there was no need for the peep to know that she had been trained.

MOUSES!

22 comments:

  1. I don't care much for treats, seriously, but now I'm hungry!

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  2. Training the humans is time consuming but worthwhile. Our Stella is a housecat so she gets treats whenever the DOG goes outside and he goes a lot. Her humans are well trained finally.

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    1. And that's how we cats like our humans to be. purrs

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  3. Learn something new every day, now Seville, you know where the sweet spot is!!!!!

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  4. Peeps are easy to train :) Glad you got some treats.

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    1. Some are easier than others. Peep #1 was a slow learner in the trainin' department, for sure. purrs

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  5. I still think jumping on the counter is a good idea!

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  6. I need to train my momma dat well!

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    1. I wonder if Toby and I should write up some kinda trainin' manual. purrs

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  7. Ooooh, is there room for a small one on that spot too? I'll definitely share, and will happily do extra shifts if you cant make it!
    Toodle pip and purrs
    ERin

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    1. You bet! I think as long as we're all close together it should work. purrs

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  8. Toby is very smart, but not smart enough to keep the sweet spot to herself.

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  9. Seville, Toby, thanks to telling me about this...I, Marvelous shall now look for my sweet spot!
    Purrs
    Marv

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  10. At all times it's important to know where the goodies are!
    Have a wonderful weekend...

    Noodle and crew

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  11. Hi Seville, Toby is very clever or has gurl logic!!! MOL

    Big hugs

    Basil & Co xox

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I love hearin' from my pals. I really, REALLY do. PURRS.