I had plans for things to do tonight. But they have all been set aside because the tendons in my left hand started to burn at around 4 p.m. It is a kind of burning that isn’t helped by four hours of ice pack.
It is a kind of burning that isn’t helped by purr therapy.
Not that Kitten Thunder didn’t try.
It started with Oliver who noticed that I was laying on the couch with a blanky. He is so happy that blanket season is back. So he came and stretched over my hand – under the blanky, of course – and purred. And purred. And purred. The Boy had to bring me my dinner because there was no way we could disturb such a happy grey kitten.
When he got up I went and got the ice pack. He came back and stretched over it. His look said ice through fur feels less than comfortable.
He left and Obi stepped in. He tried to eat the ice pack. He licked my hand.
Alas, the hand still hurts. Some things aren’t as easily treated with purr therapy.
***
While I was typing this – ow, by the way – Obi came in, used my desk to access the top of the book shelf, and stole a cat toy I’d hidden up there. Like he knew it was there and was just waiting until he was in the mood to play with it.
This toy is a mouse on a string, hooked to a stick. You all know what I’m talking about. But the string is actually wire. The kind of wire that you see serial killers strangle women with on all those suspenseful TV shows and movies. You have to wonder about the person who saw one of those shows and thought, “yes! That’s perfect for cat toys!”
That’s why the toy was hidden.
He is now walking around the house with the mousie, a killer wire and stick trailing behind him. He’s made about four laps so far.
I think it is time to free the mousie.
***
It’s Thunder Thursday! Today we bring you Teva and Isabel, from Alone…With Cats fame. It is a brave woman who would have two dilute torties. But they seem to play along with her games – like wrapping them in celophane outfits.
“Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.”
"Hate her because she left a hairball in your shoe."
***
I freed the mousie. It is no longer fun.
Kitten Thunder: Life lessons and cat tales 
I love kittehs. I have an indoor cat and I fear he grows discontented by the tedium of inside living. I have put some serious thought into purchasing one of those pet-store mice–the ones meant for snake food–so that my cat can have a good hunt. I cannot, however, bring myself to buy an animal for the slaughter. Anyway, I liked the post.
Sounds like your kitteh needs a minion. A little brother would eliminate all tedium.
I know what you mean about the slaughter animals, though. I have a lizard and when I first got him I bought a baggie of live crickets. I had guilt. Luckily for me, he prefers dead food and refused to eat the crickets. Unfortunately for the crickets it was December in Wyoming and they were set free into a snow drift. I’m sure they hibernated until spring…
Sorry about your hand — I hope it feels better soon. I was going to suggest “purrapy” as a term for purr therapy, but it sounded better in my head than it looked when I wrote it out.
Yeah, purrapy looks like a drink you’d order in a cafe in India. The hand is feeling stiff, but better today. It would probably help if I didn’t go from my desk job where I type and click, to my workshop, to my home computer to play video games. I need a hobby that doesn’t include fine motor skills from my hands.
Safe toys are boring toys! Bring on the flaming hoop! I hope your hand feels better…
Knife juggling!
I once bought my cats (not the current crop, previous ones) one of those mice on a stretchy string on a stick that you hang over the door… and they completely ignored it. Until one of them yanked the mouse off… and hours of fun were had batting and bouncing the string. Cats, why do we even try?
Right? We have a bunch of those sticks with feathers on one end and they far prefer to play with that without the people. Oliver actually prefers the stick end, so the two kittehs can play together.
And there’s a leather string traveling around the house that I believe they stole out of a shirt. The Boy was playing with Obi and finally thought to ask, “is this a cat toy?” It is now.
I think they like the feather toys because their true hobby is vomiting objects while center stage in your den.
That’s amazing! How did you know I have a pile of vomit in my den? I just saw it two minutes ago (after hearing it happen yesterday and search EVERYWHERE for it).