My Pet Talks to Me
by Joan Gilbert Jan-19-2017
You think I’m kidding?
One evening my husband and I were watching TV when what should appear but our several-months-old kitten, her front paws on my knee and her big green eyes looking up at me. I petted her and offered my lap. No. She scampered off to the next room. I heard a bit of light clanging, perhaps metal against metal, and thought nothing of it. Not a mouse anyway. Too loud.
A few minutes later there she was again: paws on my knees, upturned face. Then she was off. This time the clanging intensified, but stopped abruptly. Eh. Well, the TV show—was--intriguing.
The third time she appeared at my knee I figured I’d better follow her. We had been for weeks showing our kitten various chores. She would watch me water her potted grass, and follow the movement of the pot scrubber over dishes, occasionally finding much better places to store the pot scrubber such as with her toys. Her mother had found her way into the duct work under our house. Who knew what the next generation of felines might be capable of.
The first thing I noticed in the next room was that the floor was wet near the doorwall [1]. Hmmm. I followed a trail of water from the doorwall to under the kitchen table. And just what was her water bowl doing between a chair leg and a table leg when it should be at the other side of the room on her feeding mat!
And then it hit me: our dear kitten had watered her grass by dipping her paw into her water bowl and at some point, gotten the bowl stuck under the table. Well, yes, on reflection her paws did feel a bit wet on my knee. Also on reflection I hope I have become, not a better animal whisperer, but a better animal listener; because the fauna of the earth have a lot to say.
Our kitten is now a cat and traveled in the car with us on our long drive to Washington from Michigan. Her name is Skamper. She is an American domestic short-hair [2], so why wouldn’t we expect her to do dishes and water plants?
Editor:
[1] "Doorwall" is Michigan vernacular for sliding glass door or patio door.
[2] American domestic short-hair is a cat of mixed ancestry. In British English, they are often referred to as "moggies."
[1] "Doorwall" is Michigan vernacular for sliding glass door or patio door.
[2] American domestic short-hair is a cat of mixed ancestry. In British English, they are often referred to as "moggies."
RSS Feed