When Shmogg was still with us, one of the things he delighted in was rustling through the bottoms of the vertical blinds. Anyone who has vertical blinds will know that they aren't particular robust window coverings, and a 6kg cat rustling around in the bottom of them with great enthusiasm is Not Being Helpful. Shmogg had already managed to take care of all the cords that kept the blinds together and weighted down - most he removed himself, and the last few we took out ourselves because we worried about his safety.

As such, even when it was a new house with new Vertical Blinds, they never hung properly, and often there was a cat napping at the bottom of a window, catching the rays and making a cat-sized gap in the blinds so that everyone could see in and see the state of the litterbox... err... house.

Even in the last month of his life, he wrestled with the blinds next to the computer - they were under the table in his 'safe place' (and turns out, his alternate litterbox) and once he'd organised them in to something more suited to him, he curled up in the sunshine and slept the days away. But I got very used to the blinds rattling and rustling as he moved about under my computer table.

At first, I didn't even think about it, it was just a normal every day sound, and yelling at Shmogg to stop wrecking the blinds was pointless anyway, even when he was around. I can't easily get under the table and by the time I did manage to get under there, Shmogg would have stopped and be well settled into his own personal sunbeam. He'd give me the look of 'what are you doing down here, stupid human?' and then go back to lazing. So despite the fact the blinds were always messed up under there, actually *doing* anything Shmogg wrestling the blinds was not worth my while. And yet, the blinds were being messed with in the exact same place and same way Shmogg used to mess with them.

It took quite some time before my brain made the connection that it couldn't *possibly* be Shmogg shaking around under there and it had to be Cary instead.

"Cary! Get out of there! Stop playing with the blinds!"

"Not me, it PussyCap" he said matter of factly, standing next to me. I hadn't seen him come out from under the table. Cary looked at me in that innocent and bemused sort of way when I have done something really, really silly in his eyes.

My rational brain says that it was just Cary mucking about under the table and I simply didn't see him come out of there because I was distracted for a second by thoughts of Shmogg. But I know my B*st*rd C*t and if he wasn't under there himself, he could have easily convinced the youngest (and smallest) catslave in the house to do his bidding even whilst giving said youngest (and smallest) catslave the rather catly ability of escaping from the crime scene unnoticed. I would certainly explain why Cary managed to have the exact same innocent and bemused look on his face that Shmogg often did.

Shmogg may be at Rainbow Bridge, but the B*st*rd C*t Trick is still very much alive.

May it live forever.

Copyright © Vicky Chapman
October 31, 2007