Well, His Royal Feline Lordship (aka Tiger) has discovered a new game.....(this, presumably is to make up for the loss of the *bait the dog next door and watch him bang his head on the window* game) and it is called *how to irritate mother, and then irritate her some more....*

My *beloved little darling* (note the irony!) has discovered how much mud actually sticks to his furry little paws, and just how far he can spread the mud on said paws if he REALLY puts his mind to it. Now, being a cat lover, I have always accepted the hair, mouse guts, cat sick, dirt boxes, and paw prints as part of the *pleasure* of being owned by cats. Until Tiger started taking mud baths. Robbie, delicate well bred gentleman that he is, is utterly horrified by dirt and wouldn't DREAM of having a hair out of place, let alone having MUD on his paws, so Tiger makes up for it.

This is how the game goes......

Mother, rather stupidly, considering cats live in the house, has white kitchen tiles on the walls. I also have pale coloured kitchen tops. *His Lordship* has discovered that he has a flair for interior decorating, and has taken it upon himself to make sure that there are paw prints, not only over all the kitchen tiles, but over the sofa, the bed sheets, the carpets, the toilet seat (try explaining THAT to house guests....*Oh, so sorry Tiger forgot to flush....*), the window sills, and any other available surface that will fit a paw on it. I wouldn't mind, but he is waiting until I am watching but can't do anything, and then he deliberately places a muddy paw in a very calculated way in an impossible to clean, spot. If I clean up, he follows around behind the cloth (with muddy paws, replacing his artwork), and if I ignore him when he does it, he get the hump because he's not getting attention!

I could kill him...except I love him too much!

Copyright © Helen Miles
December 2, 1999