A Cry for Help

Kitten Thunder knew the day was going to be bad when I started ironing clothes while The Boy was brushing his teeth. You see, I don’t iron my tank tops and jeans. So I was doing the unthinkable: I was preparing to leave the house.

Kitten Thunder did not approve.

Oliver decided to handle it by going missing. He has found a hiding place somewhere in the house for his morning nap. I’ve got no idea where it is. I’ve looked every morning this week.

Obi followed me to the basement to help me get ready. He talked to me for a while from the chair outside the bathroom. Then his meows were further away.

And more urgent.

I went to see where he was and found him in the cutout in the wall to the laundry room. “I am going to get into the ceiling,” he said. I went back into the bathroom.

The cries came again with a hint of panic and I went to see what was wrong. The brown kitten was sitting on the dryer. “I am going to get into the ceiling,” he said.

“Obi,” I said. “I have a meeting. Please don’t make me send a text that says ‘kitten in the ceiling, may be late.'” He walked over to the washing machine and looked back at me.

“I am going to get into the ceiling.”

He sat down, so I continued to get dressed. Just as I finished, the cries from the laundry room became urgent. Panicked. Scared.

I ducked through the hole to the laundry room to find Obi up on the framework, right by the opening into the ceiling where he got stuck a couple weeks ago.

“I’M GOING TO GET IN THE CEILING!” he cried. “I have to. I AM COMPELLED BY FORCES BEYOND MY POWER!”

It was clear that he did not actually want to be in the ceiling, but that he needed me to intervene. So I reached up and plucked him from the framework. As I carried him up the stairs, the brown kitten head butted my chin and started to purr.

“Thank you, Girl.”

***

What does a kitten do after a near miss like that? He takes a nap on the desk – in his working box – of course.

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Affront to the Back

The Boy was walking to the belly rubbing rug. His focus was on the brown kitten waiting for him there.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEACKTTTTTTCH!

The sound was horrifying. A brown streak went left. A grey streak went right.

The Boy, his focus still on Obi, went after his to see if he was okay. “Did I step on you, buddy?” He picked Obi up to check for damages.

Meanwhile, Oliver was unnoticed by The Boy. The grey kitten returned to the living room and fixed The Boy with a hard, angry stare. “Um,” I said, “I think it was Oli’s tail that you stepped on.”

The Boy turned and saw the glare. Setting Obi down, The Boy went after Oliver to apologize. But Oli? He doesn’t make forgiveness easy. He ran under the dining room table and turned to make sure he was being followed. The Boy, dutiful, crawled in after him.

And there, beneath the table, my three boys made friends again.

I stayed on the couch. It is safer that way.

***

Obi is helping me in the workshop tonight. He thinks we should use tubing. It is in here. In the delicious hemp box.

The farm has met with disaster – Winter Storm Obi. Again. The giant cow and giant dog have been knocked into the ravine. That’s what the get for considering themselves giants in Obi’s world.

And here’s a picture of Oliver sleeping. I’m sure that is what he’s doing upstairs.

A photo essay: Helpful Cats in the Bathroom

 

In our house, if you don’t close the door tight when you go into the bathroom you get help. Lucky for me I wasn’t doing anything “personal” and could go get the camera.