When Mandy was two she loved the kitties. The kitties loved the Christmas tree and so did Mandy. So we thought we'd save the tree from both brat and cats by putting it in Mandy's old playpen. It worked really well, Mandy didn't get near the tree that year. And the cats? They slept right under the tree. We had a hard time getting them to move long enough to put presents under the tree.

Roughly two thirds of our ornaments are unbreakable because the cats love to play baptoy with them. We usually have a 7 1/2 ft tall tree and the glass goodies are on the top 2 feet. We had a hard time convincing QC not to chew on the light strings last year. We threatened to show her the scene from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation where the cat discovers the lights and shorts them out chewing on them. She finally quit on her own accord, but I wonder if we'll have the same problem this year.

Berfert loves to sleep on packages every year. The higher they're piled, the happier he is. We don't put anything he can break, get wet from tree water, or play baptoy with under the tree until shortly before the kids are due to get up. He still manages to pull some sort of stunt every year. One year he re-arranged the decorations on the coffee table onto a stacked pile on the floor. Fortunately, none of the candles were lit. One year he chewed on one of the candles. we didn't have to worry about him being constipated for a few days. Two years ago, Berfert went sledding with one of the wooden sleighs that I decorate with. He got it going then jumped on it, funny how those things can slide even across carpeted floors. I'm waiting with a combination of anticipation and dread for his annual Christmas surprise.

QC and Tanada are going to get coal in their stocking this year. They can't seem to leave each other alone. Last year they went through an abbreviated period of feline harassment and chased each other up the tree several times on one day. Surprisingly, the tree didn't come down, but it sure swayed a lot and some wooden ornaments hit the dirt. Strangest thing to see a large tabby face poking out about half way up the tree and a large kitty paw slapping a candy cane around. She seemed to think that she couldn't get out without help. So Tanada helped her. I re-hung the lights and picked up more ornaments, and fortunately that was the end of the chase game for last year. This year is not looking good, both cats have taken up gravity experiments as a hobby and have performed dumps on both a VCR and a Cable box. I can hardly wait to see what they break this year.

One of the rarest and best sights is to see three cats sacked out in front of a yule fire. We always burn a yule log on the 21st and the cats love to nap in front of the fireplace while we sip cocoa and talk about our plans for the season. Very comfy and peaceful. Too bad it never last for very long.

Season's greetings to all and a Meowy Catmouse to you as well.

Copyright © Pam Shirk
December 4, 1999