Sometimes the girls teach me some important lessons. The one I learned last night and this morning is how the littlest things can make wonderful toys.

Last night I lounged on the bed reading the new Harry Potter book, with baby Tabitha keeping me company on the foot of the bed (she doesn't like to get too close for fear that she'll get petted and cuddled, which can interfere with one's ability to play). After a few minutes I glanced down to check on her - and saw her about six inches away from my book, on a pile of clothes waiting to be folded. She was stretched out, head between her paws, gazing intently at my bookmark - the paper wrapper from a soda straw. Whenever I'd shift the position of the book, her gaze would follow the end of the straw wrapper. I pulled the wrapper out of the book, and we got a good ten minutes of playing out that piece of paper before it finally disintegrated. We even got some of Tabitha's famous bouncy-pounces - I love those!

This morning after I made the bed, Cleopatra settled in to her usual place (the foot of the bed, directly in front of the fan). Empress Cleopatra almost never plays - it's far too undignified - but this morning she let herself go. She found the remnants of the straw wrapper, and spent the better part of ten minutes squirming around on the bed pawing at that wrapper, throwing it up in the air, and catching it in her mouth.

It was so very amusing to see the girls getting so much entertainment out of a simple piece of paper!

I love cats.

Copyright © Dan Mahoney
July 3, 2003