One Step At A Time - A lesson we can all learn

"Mom tried to help me go up the steps today.. She saw me fall flat on my face on my way up.. my back leg gave out and my belly flopped down on the step.. So she turned around and said to me "aww, let me help you go up the steps".

She came down and stood behind me and tried to pick me up. I knew what she wanted to do but I wouldn't let her. I picked up my strength and on I went, took each step one at a time and made it all the way up by myself.

Because I'm all that. "

Honing My Skills

KATIE KITTY

"I am honing the fine art of human-belly massage. I have seen miss Priss do it to mom and I never paid attention to it - until I realized it was an important skill to have. That's why mom would call her every time, same time each evening: she would go, "Princeeeeess ?? Can I have a massage??!! "

Well not anymore. I learned to jump on mom's lap now so tonite I had already beaten the Princess to it, she came over to mom only to see ME take her place. So she left.

I gave mom my own brand of cat massage tonite. "

No Playing Material

LITTLE GETTY'S WORLD

"That mom lady came back home and done gone crazeh again, eyeballing me and trying to play with me. I ain't game, and I ain't playing material.

When will she ever get that and stop dancing in front of me? The moment I see her flailing around I take a hike and run for cover ! "

Love Is Never Having To Say You Are Sorry

"Ah done had a talk with Bella today . After seeing how she acted toward mom yesterday, Ah just had to at least try and explain thangs to her. Her major problem seemed to be about how mom touches her and where. So Ah had a visit with her:

"Bella Ah don't mand tailing you that Ah watched you get quite harsh with mom.... And this is the kand of thang that Pipi and Ah don't advocate nor condone, mah lady. So Ah am compelled to ask you, kandly: WHAH do you fand it necessary to get so combative ?? "

"I don't like her petting my belly. Is that so hard for you to understand? You are a tomcat so I wouldn't expect you to get it! ", she looked at me sharply with her huge eyes going dark.

"Ah'll ignore that for now. But Ah implore you, do you see ME acting that way? She touches me everywhere, every day. What do you think would happen if Ah fought her the way you fight her? "

"Haven't thought of that. You and me are different, you don't even care that she touches your butt! "

"That's right, Bella. Ah don't mand. Because AH'm not fake. AH care about her. More than mah food and water."

"You implying I DON'T? Let me remind you that I'm the one who's ran to your rescue when she wasn't there... I am a caring cat, alright ! "

"Well then, prove it Bella. Be that caring cat and let the little thangs go. Can't you understand that she touches you because she loves you? Like she does ME? She just doesn't see the difference between me and you, and your belly...

Ah maght say mahself, miss Bella took heed of mah imploring and admoneetiawns. The next tame mom done come in and greet Bella, she rubbed her belly - and Bella let it BE. It was like a miracle. "

Diva From New York

"Momma done come back and tried to play with Bella but Bella was in a bad mood, she thought momma was out too long and didn't bring back the wet noms so she wasn't gonna give her affections away. So the more momma done trah to play, the angrier the big diva got.

"Don't TOUCH me!!", she yowled and hissed st some point. She gets quite hysterical like that. Baby walked over to me and took refuge. He wondered if we should be worried, could momma be really doing something wrong to Bella?

"No, son. ", Ah reassured him. "It's Bella. She's ....different. She came from "New York". "

Thangs And Responsibilities

GOOGIE'S GRITS

"Part of mah responsibilitehs lah with guarding mom's thangs. You see, when Ah see her handle certain thangs, putting them here and there.. AH know, they are important. Important to her, in some way. And they are not to be touched or handled bah ANY-pawdy else.

So tonate, she done set these two thangs down on the steps and Ah could see that meant somethang. She set them down like it was some kand of a plan, Ah seen these thangs bafawre of course, she uses them in our boxes. So when little Getty went up there and stood on them, bah them and what not, Ah knew Ah had to spring into action.

Ah took a rather .. soft approach with her, really. Ah stood beneath her on the steps and tried to tale her: "Deeze are NOT yours, vacate the premises immediately!".. But she did not understand. So Ah reached over with mah paw to try to make mah point clear. She gave me cattitude.

"What d'you want, daddy? I'm not doing nutting!!", she tried to repel me altogether bah raising her own paw in defiance to all Ah was trying to do. Ah would not give up: "GIT outta there, little girl! Don't you see you are stepping on mom's thangs?!!", Ah thunderpawed once more.

Momma done come bah raght at that moment and it was game ovah.. Little Getty did vacate the premises after all.. "

Treat Distaste

BIG BELLA'S BITS:    "TREAT DISTASTE"

"I just had a disconcerting exchange with mom and that minx:

Here I was, relaxing in the middle of the floor, and in she comes and starts to pet me.  Okay, I was on board with that.  But then, she started telling me crap like:  "You don't like a treat, do you?  You're my beautiful cat but you don't want a treat? "

I'll take the "beautiful cat".  But on the word "treat" not only does it hit my distaste and flat ears, it actually beckoned that little minx out of nowhere.  Soon as SHE heard "treat" in she comes prancing past us, tail stuck up, swinging her butt and marching straight to the kitchen, going to get her "treat"..

Disgusting. "

Too Hot To Handle

GOOGIE'S GRITS:

"Ah am getting a leetle tired of Baby's antics with the furry tail... Every tame mom sits down and throws it in his face, he starts the jumping and the showing off.. He takes the floor and makes it all about him... And Ah feel Ah have to git outta the way if nothing else to avoid him running into me as he twists and twerks in mid-air and then lands whichever way, he's so blindly clumsy.

Ah just go under the coffee table and start sulking...putting mah head down on the floor.

Momma done call me while she sat right next to me but Ah couldn't even lift mah head. And there was Baby the whole tame, dancing around in front of us all. * Sigh * "

A Cat's Greeting

GOOGIE:

"We have a system in this house: Someone must always be present for greetings when mom returns home and comes through that door. We trade this duty, depending on who's sleeping, who is indisposed, that sort of thang.

In the past, Ah had passed on that duty, me and Pipi, to the newcomers. So Bella had taken over (more like she insisted at the tame). Then Baby came along and he became mah Deputy - so he did the honors every single tame mom came in through that door. Of course, sometames all of us will go down and greet her, depending on how long she's been gone. If she's gone long, we form our greeting committee, even minx Katie comes down. Ah don't think she likes seeing big Bella going down to greet mom so she stays out of her way.. and mah Deputy Baby has been keeping her at bay too.

Lately, Ah took over greetin' duty once again because it seems to me, everyone else has been slacking. Big Bella has been oversleeping upstairs in her bed and she's too groggy to sense mom coming home.. Baby has been napping a lot too and keepin' little Getty and the other girls company up on mom's bed during the days. And Pipi, well ... she don't wanna get in the way of big Bella, see.. She saves her quality tame with mom later, once she settles on the couch. "