Beast or Burden

I have an injured right thumb so it makes it quite difficult to work the keyboard and the mouse. My bandaged thumb slips right off the mouse and my pointer finger gets confused hits buttons and off I go somewhere on an Internet site that I was not aiming for. Such is life - always getting sidetracked or derailed.

The cause of my thumb injury is sitting in the window just glaring at me. She's a beast and sometimes a burden but mostly a pain in the caboose. Her temperament is at best evil. She rubs up against you in pure delight and when you go to acknowledge her presence she nails you with her dagger claws.

Sometimes I do torment her and as always I end up with the short end of the stick. This weekend I was rubbing her backside (worst part of her body to touch) and she nailed my thumb - I pulled away with her deadly claw stuck in the end of my thumb. OUCH!!!!! So the throbbing thumb is all bandaged up and still painful. My bad.

I am hoping this injury doesn't end up as 'cat scratch fever'.

Copacetic

His muscles tense and twitch in a slow rhythm keeping a steady pace with the slight breeze. His eyes big and round stare with a touch of fright and total concentration locked in place. A dog barks incessantly on the next street over. A car horn toots several times, tires squeal and the sound of metal crushing into metal fills the air. Far in the distance a siren wails, moving closer.

The engine of a lawn mover sputters to silence. A storm door creaks the hum of a heat pump and the roar of a chainsaw become melodies of the day. A lone wind chime tinkles in the breeze. The sprinkler hisses fast sending spurts of water droplets across the newly mown grass.

His ears now are arched toward the back of his head his nostrils flare ever so slightly. The grayness of the chain link fence melds into the dusk settling in for the evening. Little black hairs rise along his spine. A low soft growl leaks.

His paw reaches quickly and makes one slash through the rectangle in the chain link fence.
A small gray tabby returns the slap. Muscles twitching and whiskers flinching the fight drags on. Slow, methodical without the intensity or harm. It’s more like a warning or a threat. You stay on your side and I’ll stay on mine, guarding ones territory with the protection of the fence. Playing, teasing and testing knowing they are safe and secure behind the security wall.

The black cat shakes his head and lumbers under the shade of a mimosa tree. He lays partially hidden in the tangles of the unkempt flowers. The gray tabby paces along the fence searching for his foe with the fence shielding them from danger separating them from hostilities.
Darkness spills into the yard as the sun disappears for the day as both felines with their confidence waning dash for a safer place.

Cat Whisperer

I recently discovered that the dog has been sneaking into my bedroom when I leave the house and napping on the bed. That sneaky mutt.
So to discourage his bad dog behavior I decided to shut the bedroom door every time I leave the house. This tactic has certainly discouraged his bad dog behavior but it has caused another issue. With puss - the cat.
Old puss is a strange beast to say the least. She has ripped a corner section from the bottom of the mattress so she can have a dark hiding place. She is not kid friendly and hides inside the mattress when they enter my dwelling. I guess this is her security cave.
Cats in general usually follow their own rules - this is puss's demeanor. She likes to be fed on her own schedule and if I do not comply there is hell to pay. Her claws are dangerous.
So yesterday before I left my humble dwelling I closed the bedroom door. Old puss was fast asleep on the kitchen counter or at least I thought. She flew off that counter like a tornado gone wild. She ran to the bedroom door and screeched. I saw those deadly claws make an appearance. She ran right up to the door crying pitifully and pacing back and forth. The screeching grew louder and more intense. She glared at me with those demon yellow eyes. She ran in circles in front of the closed bedroom door. Howling and yowling like a deranged feline. It was a full blown cat panic attack. A sorry sight to witness.
As usual, I caved and opened the bedroom door. Like a streak of lightening she flew into the bedroom and ran under the bed. She peered out at me with that smug look on her face. I placed the gate in the doorway and latched it tightly. HA!!! Let's see that fat old puss leap over the gate to get her food and water.
When I returned home puss was stretched out on the couch and she glared at me with satisfaction. I'm searching for a cat whisperer professional to help me or her with our attitudes and bad behavior.