Yesterday was my third anniversary. My husband brought me roses and I put cards all over the house. The kitchen, the bathroom, his dresser, the place where he hangs his jeans, his computer, his pillows. No, I am not the card fairy. ::whistles tunelessly and stares innocently at the ceiling:: He made us dinner; steak with
béarnaise sauce, broccoli, and baked potato. A lovely wine and a chocolate jello I had not incountered before which tasted like a mousse. mmmmmmmmmm The kids were banned from the bedroom whilst we were feasting, although my son acted as waiter when I as being served (oh yes, I forgot the salad of my favorite green... spinach... mmmmmm). We ended up being joined by Star.
Later in the evening, Oberon got into the act. We call these two the 'Commodore Kitties' when they hang out together. Vanderbilt University's (in Nashville, TN) colors are black and gold. So, given a black cat and a orange tending toward gold cat... well... what else would one call them?? When the three eldest cats are together they are Tres Gattos Ombres (don't ask me, it's my husband's fault!). Of course, these are the three who triangulated the mouse one day.
I don't recall if I've told that story. Here's what happened; we came outside one day to find Thomas sitting and staring intently. About a foot away, his brother Zaphoid was also staring intently facing in the same direction. Then there was Star, yes, you guessed it. Star was also staring the same way. All three cats were in a perfect equilateral triangle, staring at the center. In the center was a field mouse. First, it would dart one way... ooops! There's a cat. Then it would dart another way... ooops! There's a cat. Then it would dart another way... ooops! There's a cat. You could tell by the flicker of their tails and the set of their mouths (btw all three Tims were standing, not crouching) that they were quite amused about this predicament.
Now, I was outside for quite awhile and this went on... and on... and on. In fact, I'm not sure how long it went. My boys can play with Things They Consider to be Toys™ for hours. ::sigh:: At least they didn't bring this one inside! The worst time they did that was when Oberon was a kitten. No, really!! Evidently all of the Tims felt that it was imperative that they teach Oberon to hunt. So they would bring in prey that... wasn't quite... gone yet.
This is because all of the Elder Cats™ (including the late Quigley whom we still miss, Tanis didn't get into the act) are at least half Siamese. Siamese cats were bred to be temple guards. Because of this, they were all kept in one room during the day; Toms, Queens, and kittens. One can not have the Toms eating the kittens as they would do in the wild. Ergo, the Siamese were bred to help take care of the kittens. I remember my grandmother's cat being whacked out when she had a litter by a Siamese cat who was rather put out when she wouldn't let him help with the litter!!
At any rate, being Siamese, means that whenever a cat with Siamese blood encounters a kitten, their first instinct is to take care of it. That means bathing it, making sure it's eating right, giving it toys to play with, playing with it; and, of course, teaching it to hunt. ::rolls eyes:: Which explains why we spent to much time going, "Take that back where you found it!!" or some such. Zaphy was the only one who wasn't that good at understanding that, although I believe I've trained that a bit better into him. It's only taken five years or so. ::rueful grin:: As it turned out, Oberon doesn't care for hunting, even after his tutelage (private lessons being given by Star).
Now, things are back to normal; whatever normal is around our house. Oberon still trys to see if he can flop on someone. The Boys (Thomas & his brother Zaphoid) usually disappear for the night. Star spends his days with me, no matter where I am; oh wait, he tends to do that at night as well. Hmmmmm, does that make him a NinjaBodyguard as well as a ComputerKitty?? hmmmmmmmm Oberon has actually taken to flopping on my husband (or beside him). Of course, Dale pets him and goes, "I don't like cats. I don't like you. I wonder how big a pot we'd need to cook you in." etc. All the while Dale is scritching the cat and Oberon is purring like there is no tomorrow. ::chuckles:: This is exactly like my dad.
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