Once the tree was done, I stood back and surveyed my work. "Not bad," I thought to myself. 'Freeway' seemed to agree and even to be smiling(?). I should have known then that the tree and I were in for trouble. When I came in from work the next day, sure enough, she had made a few adjustments and obviously was proud of her handiwork. I let it go because after all, she lived there too, and should have some say.
As time went on, she loved knocking an ornament off every once in a while and batting it about the floor in a little game all her own. That was okay with me as I purposely put unbreakable ornaments on the bottom of the tree anticipating this. Soon, it become clear the thing she loved the most was climbing up into the tree, easing out on a branch and silently, stealthily, sitting there staring at me until I suddenly spied her and fussed. She would ease back on the branch a bit and peer out at me through the pine needles, waiting to see if I was going to pursue the matter further.
It soon became clear to me that she was going to persist in this pastime until the tree was taken down for the year. I DID learn the hard way, however, to tie the tree to the wall after it came crashing over on my son and I as we stood admiring it one day. It toppled to the side she was perched on, peering out at us, of course!
One day, I decided to add an additional challenge, or confrontation, if you will, to the game. As I tore back into the living room, I stopped short, just behind the wall. As she came tearing around the U-turn and saw me standing right there in her face, she stopped so suddenly, her rump caught up with her neck and she looked only a couple of inches long, until she lined out again, regrouped and figured out what I had done. She gave me a strange look (OBVIOUSLY calling me "a very strange human being!") then stalked haughtily off to take a nap. After that, since I got so much laughter out of her reaction, I continued to do this to her only occasionally so that she never knew when I was going to. It never ceased to catch her by surprise and to cause her great embarrassment.
One day, as I took off for the living room at a dead run, with her in hot pursuit, I rounded the U-turn corner and stopped, hiding against the wall. No 'Freeway!' Wondering what could have distracted her, I waited another moment or two, then quietly eased back around the turn only to have HER jump out at ME! She had finally learned THE TRICK! Thereafter, after a skirmish, she would hurriedly take off running before I could and 'attack' ME from behind the wall.
Once I bought 'our' home, and we moved into it, the game continued until I brought 'WalMart' home to the family. Thereafter, she played the game with the 'baby' until the 'baby' finally caught on and would get her back. 'Freeway' never played the game with me again, partially because she had a 'baby' to play it with and partially because the time or two we tried, the 'baby' interfered so that we couldn't.
'WalMart' dearly loved this game. She kept playing it and playing it until you would have thought 'Freeway' would catch on. If she did, she never let on to 'WalMart,' preferring instead to play the game. I often wondered if they got their REAL pleasure out of watching me walking down the hallway unawares and tripping over the residual 'speed bump' in the runner. (They never straightened it out again after their game!)If cats could roll over laughing.........
One particular time, when I hadn't replenished the 'holy bag' as quickly as usual, I was sitting on the couch, reading and watching TV, when I looked up to see 'WalMart' creep quietly into the paper bag. I curiously watched a couple of moments. I saw her front paws come barely out the hole, and then her nose so she could peek out without being seen. Her back feet were out the bag opening. Slowly she drew herself up inside the bag so that the bag was arched over her body. You couldn't see her at all. At that point, two tiny front paws barely eased their way out the hole. She crept forward a small distance, very quietly.
'Freeway,' sitting on the floor, half snoozing, across the room, whirled around and looked. 'WalMart' had drawn back into the bag and was not moving. After a moment, 'Freeway' went back to her half snooze, whereupon 'WalMart' crept quietly forward another foot or so, looking every bit like a huge, brown, paper snail. I was quietly cracking up on the couch, knowing what was about to take place. 'Freeway' seemed not to notice. 'WalMart' stuck her front paws out again and crept forward a foot or so. 'At this point, 'Freeway' caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and whirled around again. 'WalMart' was drawn up into the bag again and the bag wasn't moving.
After another couple of minutes of watching the bag with great consternation, 'Freeway' seemed to think it was okay and turned back to her snooze. 'WalMart' stuck her tiny front paws out at that point, having moved close enough to 'Freeway' to accomplish what she wanted and swatted 'Freeway' on the rump. 'Freeway' made a frantic, 3-foot leap, straight up into the air and flew out of the room with 'WalMart' in hot pursuit. I have never seen 'Freeway's' eyes so large and wild with fear before, nor have I ever seen 'WalMart's' so full of mischief! How could I see you ask, what with both eyes full of tears of laughing uproariously at those two? I honestly don't know! It was days before 'Freeway' would trust another brown paper bag!
Every once in a while, the 'lump' under the bedspread would move a bit and obviously 'WalMart' thought I was doing it as she would swat at it a bit, look at me, then forget about it. This went on for a few minutes, each session getting a little more boisterous than the last, when 'Freeway' must have thought she had carried it as long as she dared.
While 'WalMart' was doing a bit of half-hearted swatting, and looking at me, suddenly 'Freeway' shot her front paw through one of the holes in the bedspread, as far as her shoulder, and started swatting at 'WalMart.' Seeing only the arm with no body attached, 'WalMart,' wild-eyed and in the tight grip of panic, shot straight up in the air and fell backwards off the bed. She didn't stop running until she got to the other end of the house, where I found her hiding. I still wonder if she ever figured out that 'Freeway' had indulged in a massive bit of payback with her! If cats could laugh, 'Freeway' certainly enjoyed herself that morning! I, too, laughed my fool head off!
At one point, I went over and sat in my rocker in the living room to take a breather. As I was sitting and rocking, a calico streak sailed past me on the floor! I sat up and looked, in time to see 'WalMart' sitting on the floor, pawing at her nose until she fell over, head first in the floor. She rolled over onto her side, got up and streaked off again to the back of the house. I followed her at a quick pace, concerned as to what happened to her!
I looked around for her until finally, I found her hiding under the bed, still pawing furiously at her face.
Wild-eyed, and every hair standing on end, her tail looking like a bottle brush, I pulled her out and sat her in my lap to inspect her. Lo and behold, when poking her nose into the wrapping where it didn't belong, she had run across an irritable piece of Scotch tape. Furious at having been disturbed, the tape had somehow leaped out and attached itself firmly to 'WalMart's' nose! Knowing she was into something she wasn't supposed to be into, I'm sure she thought something had grabbed her by the nose and wouldn't let go!
I pulled the tape from her nose, laughing so hard I could barely see to do so, only to be rewarded with a look from her that plainly said she was humiliated to the MAX, and none too pleased with me for taking such merriment in her predicament! She stalked off, tail high and still bushy, haughty as any compromised Southern Belle. I, in the meantime, had to collect myself from my gales of laughter enough merely to stand, let alone walk!
BR>