that other guy

So it has come to my attention...

It has come to my attention that not everyone knows about James.

You know, that other guy.

MOUSES!

So let's talk about cats.  Cats that live in my house or on my property, that is.

Well we'll start with me on account of...  Well...  Well on account of my bein' the most important cat living 'round here, what with my bein' famous and all, and...

What?  What's that, Peepers?  What's that you're babblin' on about now?

NO, I am not infamous.  I'm famous, I  am.  There's a big difference, you know.

MOUSES!

Now where was I?

Oh yeah, I was talkin' about myself.

MOUSES!

So there's me, of course.  I, Seville the Cat, live here in this house.  The famous - not infamous - world-renowned blogger and gentlecat nip farmer that I am.

Then there is Saffron.

You all know 'bout Saffron now, right?  Saffron is my new brother who came to live with the peeps and me in early January.

Yes, he is a boy, even though Peepers gave him a girly girls' name.  But you know the peep.  She does that kinda thing.

MOUSES!

Oh, and he's not orange.  Too bad, really, on account of us orange dudes bein' so handsome and stuff.  Not to mention, what with the spice saffron bein' orange and all, it might make you think Saffron was orange, too, but alas, he is dark charcoal grey.

The peep strikes again with the inappropriate names.

MOUSES!

And now there is James.

So James showed up a few months after Saffron did.  He, too, just like Saffron, is scared of the peeps and pretty much everyone and everythin' - includin' Saffron - but he does come for food on a regular basis.  Sometimes more regular than others but you can count on him comin' for some soft mushy stuff 'bout once a day, five or six times a week.

MOUSES!

And, just like Saffron, James is a boy.

We think.

'Course with Peepers and her namin' of cats, one never knows for sure.

But actually, I am pretty sure James is a boy AND I'm pretty sure he, like Saffy Saffers Saffron Sassafras, is gonna end up bein' my brother as well.

Once Peepers gains his trust, that is.

And when she does...

When she does, I'll have TWO brothers with whom to contend.

MOUSES!

But back to the brass tacks of the matter here.  Who, you ask, is James?   What does he look like?  From where did he come?  That kinda thing.

Well...

Well he's a pretty big dude.  Certainly wasn't lackin' for food as a baby.  The guy's bigger than me, for a start.  And he is always in formal attire.

No, he's not a penguin.

*rolls eyes*

James is a tuxedo, my friends!  Yup, always dressed up in his formal black and white threads like he's headin' to the cat prom, or somethin' like that.

MOUSES!

As for from where he came, no one knows.  He just appeared outta nowhere, one day.  Right outta the blue!

Teleporation technology has not been ruled out, as of yet.

MOUSES!

So there you have it, my friends.  Now you know.  Now you know all about James.  At least as much as I know, that is.

MOUSES!

***********************

And remember:

IF IN DOUBT,

DON'T. GO. OUT.

Continue to practice SOCIAL DISTANCIN' measures

AND KEEP WASHIN' YOUR PAWS.

MOUSES!

Remember to mask up, too.

update is complete

Hey ho, Sivvers the Cat here, ready with the latest update.

Update is 88% complete.  Please do not turn off your computer.

That's not the kinda update I meant.

MOUSES!

So we're still one-paw typin', the peep and I, and yeah, IT STILL SUCKS.

MOUSES!

And then, as if that weren't enough, Saffron showed up the day before last with a sore left paw, too!

IT'S LIKE THERE'S AN EPIDEMIC GOIN' ON.

MOUSES!

Thankfully, Saffron's paw appears to be all better now.  Peepers thinks maybe she was stung by a bee or bitten by an ant or somethin' like that.

I'm tellin' ya, if any of my aunts were to bite me on the paw, there'd be mousin' heck to pay, for sure.

MOUSES!

But now for more on the Saffron front: Saffron touched Peepers' hand with her nose, the other day.

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

I know, it is hard to believe.  I mean, just where had the peep's hand been prior to bein' touched?  Was it clean?  Was she sure?  That's risky business, that is, touchin' a peep's hand.  You never know what kinda peep germs those peeps might have.

MOUSES!

But yeah, Peepers held out her right paw as she was puttin' Saffron's brekkie dishes out on the veranda, and Saffron must have been crazy delusional or somethin' like that from hunger, 'cause she came right over and sniffed the peep's paw.

It was a celebratory event, for sure.

I imbibed in a little of the nip, myself.

MOUSES!

But that's not all!  Nope, there's more news on the Saffron front, for sure.

That kitty has no shame, I tell you.  No shame!  She rolls on her back and shows her belly now, even when the peep is outside.  SHE EXPOSES HER BELLY!  Peepers says it's a big deal havin' Saffron trust her enough to expose her belly like that.  I say, she's nothin' but a shameless hussy, but...

Yeah, yeah...  Quit your gripin', Peepers.  Callin' my sister-possibly-brother-to-be a shameless hussy isn't an insult, at all.

It's more like a fact.

Oh, and the other day, when Saffy - I call her Saffy sometimes, BUT NEVER TO HER FACE - was rollin' around on her back on one of the veranda chairs like the shameless hussy she is, that darn cat...  Well...  Well she rolled right off the chair, she did.

That's what you get for shameless hussying, you see.

MOUSES!

And in other Saffy news...

Saffron has a pal.  Yup, big orange dude with a fluffy tail, but only moderately fluffy everywhere else.  Oh, and he's got a blotch of white on the side of his nose.  Peepers says he's a good lookin' guy, but what does she know?  He's CERTAINLY not as good lookin' as me.

Not even close.

MOUSES!

Word on the street is, this orange fellow has a home.  He does, however, like to visit after Saffron has had her brekkies and eat up whatever she's left.

She gets the fanciest of the feasts, you see.

Not to mention kibble laced with temptin' treats.

Not that she leaves any of those treats behind, mind you.  Believe me, I know: I've checked, on more than one occasion.  Saffron is what you might call an eat-your-dessert-first kinda gal, I believe.

Although she may be a guy.  As you all know, and as evidenced by my late sisters Tobias and Mason; and my late brothers Nerissa, Desdemona, and Calista; Peepers' boy-girl cat identification skills are somewhat lackin'.

MOUSES!

But anyway...

But anyway, that's my update all complete.

Guess it's safe to turn off the computer now.

MOUSES!

***********************

And remember:

IF IN DOUBT,

DON'T. GO. OUT.

Continue to practice SOCIAL DISTANCIN' measures

AND KEEP WASHIN' YOUR PAWS.

MOUSES!

Remember to mask up, too.

mornin' escapade

Don't look at me, Peepers.

No seriously, don't look at me.  I haven't yet finished my mornin' ablutions.

Go ask Andy for help, why don't ya.  He doesn't care 'bout doin' mornin' ablutions.  Have you SEEN the state of his tail?

MOUSES!



Earlier this mornin'...

Hey Peepers, whatcha doin'?  Somethin' stupid as usual?

MOUSES!

I only ask 'cause uh...

Well...

'CAUSE WHATEVER IT IS, IT'S LOOKIN' PRETTY WEIRD.

MOUSES!

You're hearin' a noise, you say.  A strange noise.  An annoyingly strange noise.

Hmmm...  You don't say.

Oh yeah, you DID say.

MOUSES!

No.  No, I don't know what the noise is.

Oh yeah, I can hear it.  I just don't know what it is and quite frankly, I don't care, either.

You think I should help you check it out.  You think I should help.  HELP.  What do I look like, YOUR SLAVE?

You're thinkin' a mouse or somethin' might be behind the wall.  Or in the shoe cupboard  down below?

Hmmm...  A mouse, huh?  Ask Andy.  He goes in that cupboard all the time.  Goodness knows what he does in there.  It's not like he fits into any of your shoes.

You'd like ME to go into the cupboard and see if there's a mouse settin' up house in there.  Again, I repeat:  What do I look like, YOUR SLAVE?

MOUSES!

What?  How come you're lookin' at me like that?

What do you MEAN I could be more cooperative?  I suggested you go ask Andy, didn't I?  How much more cooperative do you expect me to be?

But seriously, Peepers, what do you mean?

Really?

Really?

Excuse me while I go into the kitchen.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Okay, I'm back.

Why did I leave the room to laugh?  Well, 'cause last time I laughed at you, I did it right in your face, and you complained it was rude

Okay, so let's get this straight.  You're hearin' a noise and you're thinkin' it might be a mouse, and YOU'D LIKE ME to help you.

Excuse me, I have to go laugh again.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!

I'm back.  Good to go now.

No, I don't mean I'm good to go into the cupboard.  I'm mean, I'm done laughin' at you.  You wanna check out the cupboard, you're gonna have to check it out yourself.  If you get down on your hands and knees, I bet your head will fit in there, and...

Oh gosh, sorry 'bout this, Peepers.  I really thought I was done before, but...

Excuse me.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!

Okay, I'm back.  And this time, I really am back for good.

What's so funny, you ask?

Well...

Well the thought of my helpin' you by goin' into that cupboard where Andy hangs out was pretty funny, for starters.

Then there's the image of you stickin' your head in that cupboard where Andy hangs out.  Well that's pretty funny, too.

And then there's the fact that the noise you're hearin' isn't even comin' from the cupboard in the first place.

No seriously, it's not.

Really!

Yes, yes, I KNOW you've been lookin' about in the sunroom, tryin' to track down the noise for the past forty-five minutes.

Yes, yes, I KNOW a whole forty-five minutes of lookin' for a noise is a very long time, but..

But...

BUT LOOK UP, PEEPERS.  LOOK WAY, WAY UP.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

And speakin' of tickets, I bet I could have sold tickets to this little mornin' escapade of the peep's and made enough money for a whole week's worth of nip.  MOUSES!

Okay Peepers, see that dragonfly caught between the blind and the skylight?  THAT'S who has been makin' the funny noises.

Don't get all huffy with me.  Not MY fault you wasted the last forty-five minutes lookin' for a mouse.

AND BY THE WAY, THE STEP LADDER IS IN THE KITCHEN.  TRY NOT TO FALL FROM IT WHILE RESCUING THE DRAGONFLY!

'Cause we all know you're gonna try.

MOUSES!

Anderson's story

It had snowed overnight. Not a lot.  Just a dusting, really, but the piercingly cold wind had blown snow under the spruce tree where he had taken shelter, covering him in the icy white particles. People talked about snow being like a blanket. A blanket of snow might protect some things but for a cat, it was simply cold. Anderson shivered, pulling himself up into a tight ball, tucking his nose into his chest for warmth.

Oh how he longed for the days of his kittenhood when he had had a warm home and a family who loved him.  There had been comfortable places to sleep at night and always plenty of food to eat. He had been happy.

But then one day long, long ago, it had all come to an end.  He was put in a carrier and then into the car.  Eventually the car had stopped.  He was removed from the carrier and dumped on the side of the road, left to watch his people driving away.  He didn't know why they were leaving him behind but was positive it was some sort of mistake.  It had to be.  He patiently waited for them to return. He had waited all day and into the night but never saw them again.  They had forgotten all about him, sitting there, by the side of the road.

Andy's stomach growled with hunger.  When had he eaten last?  Yesterday?  No, it was the day before or perhaps even the day before that.  It had been too long.  He needed to find something to eat.

Emerging from under the spruce tree, Anderson discovered a clear, blue sky.  The sun shone brightly although its warming rays couldn't overcome the cold, icy wind.  The snow that had fallen overnight was light and easily picked up by that wind.  Snowflakes smacked him in the face.  They hurt.  He needed to find some shelter but first, he needed food.

He gave himself a good shake and started walking toward the house.  The house...  It wasn't his house.  It belonged to several other cats and, from what he had been able to observe, two people. The cats were okay, he thought.  They didn't chase him or pick fights.  Most of the time they simply ignored him.

As for the people, he avoided them at all costs.  People were dangerous.  He had learned that early on, in his life on his own.  People would yell at you to chase you away.  If yelling didn't work, they might hit or even kick you.  People were not only dangerous but they were cruel, too.

Anderson still remembered the day he had been hit with a broom.  He would never forget it.  He couldn't forget it.  It had hurt so terribly.

He had only been trying to get a little something to eat.  He was only trying to survive.  He hadn't meant to do any harm.  The food was in the garbage.  It had been thrown out.  He hadn't thought anyone would mind his rummaging through a garbage bin and the aroma of something edible had been so enticing.  How could a person begrudge a starving a cat a morsel or two of food?  The only thing that made sense was that people were mean.  Mean and dangerous.  He knew he must remember that, always and from that day on, he did.

After being hit he had run far, far away.  So far he could never find his way back again even if he were to try.  He was on his own now.  All alone, living off the land as best as he could do.

He thought about the house.  The people living there had never hurt him but he wasn't prepared to take any chances.  He kept his distance as much as possible but sometimes he simply had to venture closer.  Today was a day he would need to do exactly that.

His tummy growled again, reminding him to pick up his pace.  He knew that if the people living in the house saw him, they would put out food.  They had done so before and he was sure they would do so again.  Once in the driveway, he sat down.  The wind was strong and icy cold, forcing him to turn so that his left side was shielded from it.  Earlier that winter, he had lost all the fur on that side.  The mats had become so tangled that with the longer days brought by late January and February, he had begun to shed and the mats of fur had simply peeled off, exposing bare skin to the bitter weather.  Out of the wind it was still cold but didn't hurt quite so much.

He heard the unmistakable sound of a door opening and closing.  He froze in terror, not daring to move even a whisker.  Did that sound mean that someone was bringing him something to eat or did it mean danger?

Waiting another minute or two to make sure that the person was gone, Anderson gingerly walked up the path leading to the house.  There was no one there but on the veranda were three bowls of food. Soft food, dry and even a bowl of water.  He dashed towards the bowls and ate voraciously.  As soon as he was done, he slowly backed away, disappearing around the corner.

At the back of the house was a deck.  Most of it was covered in snow but there were patches of bare wood, here and there.  And with the sun shining down upon it, he knew it would be warm.  The cold wind didn't seem to bother one when on that deck.  He headed for it and squeezing through two wooden planks, he settled down in the sunshine, allowing it to warm his fur.  The warmth felt heavenly.

Over time, the days became longer and more importantly, warmer.  The fur on his side began to grow back and his tummy no longer ached from hunger.  Anderson learned that the people living in the house would give him food whenever he appeared and not once did they do anything to harm him.  He was sure that at least one of them was eager to befriend him but he was having nothing to do with that.  He fully intended to keep a safe distance at all times.

Eventually he found that he could venture as close as the path while waiting for the people to deliver his meals.  He didn't even have to run away when they appeared.  They seemed to know better than to try to approach him.  And by mid-summer he found that not only could he speak to the people from the house, but they appeared to quite enjoy hearing him do so.  They would even speak back although truth be told, it all sounded like gibberish to him.

By late summer, the days had begun to get shorter and the nights, although not cold, were definitely chilly.  Anderson was reminded of the cold and icy winter he had lived through only a few months before.  He knew it would return again.  The thought made him shiver.

He was now venturing right onto the veranda when the people came out of the house to give him his food.  A couple of times he had accidentally touched their hands with his nose when they took too long to spoon the food into the bowl.  Of course, whenever that happened, he would immediately hiss at them, reminding them that he was still in control of the situation and that they shouldn't read too much into it.  They didn't appear to mind the occasional hiss.  Once or twice, he thought he even detected a hint of a smile from the person he now knew to be the first peep.

Then one day in late September, it happened.  Anderson had come around to the back door in the early evening.  The sun was beginning to set and the air was quite cool.  Peep #1 was standing by the door, speaking to him and encouraging him to approach.  He did.  He placed one paw in front of the other.  Then a few more steps were made.  Before he knew it, Andy was inside a small room at the back of the house.

Never before had he seen a person move so quickly but that back door was shut in a flash.  Anderson was trapped. He raced through the house and with desperation, headed up a flight of stairs.  He found no means of escape up there but instead, found something else.  Something much better.  He found a room with a soft bed upon which to sleep in comfort and warmth. It reminded him of his life as a kitten when he had enjoyed the love of a family.  Where his tummy always had food and where he never went hungry. He found...  a home.

Anderson could never have known that the house would eventually become his new home but his home, it did become.  And the people living in the house would become his new family along with the cats who already resided there.  Never again would Andy be lonely or scared.  Never again would he feel the bitter cold.  And never again would his tummy ache from hunger.  From that day on, Anderson had a home filled with warmth, comfort and most importantly, love.