Ok, I believe I am about totally resigned to the fact that my house may not survive kittenhood. And perhaps the best word I can create to describe her is that she has "Sassitude". Great word huh? Oh yeah, she has it too.
Once she got run of the house, she discovered what fun the houseplants were. They fast became her jungle, from where she could stalk unsuspecting victims from. And! She could dig and make mom crazy by getting dirt all over the floor! And before you can say it, no, she didn't use them for the litterbox, they are just playgrounds. And she was fast killing some of them much to my dismay. I would move them, set them back upright, you name it, and she'd figure out how to get back into them.
Finally in a state of desperation (I love my plants), I did a bit of research online and chose what seemed a simple and at least aesthetic solution. I got rocks, lovely round and polished type river rocks. I even finally repotted a couple that have been needing to be repotted for awhile now and installed rocks around all those that I could.
When I put the first plant back on it's rolling stand (great for large heavier pots), she immediately thought I'd put it back for her entertainment. I stood back and watched as she immediately jumped into the pot and found much to her dismay, no more soft earthy soil to play in, just this hard cold lumpy stuff. The look I got was humorous, "What the hell is this? And why is it in my play area?" It didn't take long and she got out and sulked. The plants now might survive kittenhood.
Now, I have to say we have also found her to be extremely intelligent and curious about everything. She pretty much follows me everywhere and watches all I do. This includes all things concerning the toilet. She is fascinated with the flushing process and where stuff goes. I can literally see her making the connections for things needing flushing. And lately I have been finding "things" in the toilet downstairs in the mornings. One morning it was one of her play mice, therefore it did not get flushed, and hubby and I have found dead leaves or paper in the bowl numerous times now. I am just waiting for her to figure out the flush mechanism or potty train herself. I wouldn't put it past her.
And the other thing for some reason is the lower bathroom sink drain plug, quite often I find it in the middle of the living room floor in the morning. Haven't figured out why though.
So far we've found that there isn't anything she cannot figure out if she wants it bad enough. And now that she's at the "teenage" long and lean stage, she has figured out her jumping capacity is much more than a couple months ago. Kitchen counters aren't way up there anymore, and the other counter is an excellent place to watch mom prepare interesting tasting food.
She has a chair at the table she has learned to sit at and watch us eat supper most evenings. However, recently when we had company visiting, obviously the smell of the cheeses on one evening's supper were too much for her and she just quick as you please jumped up into our guest's lap and started to help herself to the cheese on his plate. Much to everyone's shock and laughter.
When she's busy cuddling me though she always wants to know what I'm drinking, good thing she only, once in a great while, wants a sip of my water. She doesn't like the coffee, just likes to sniff it, and doesn't like my coconut milk. But I can say she loves cream cheese and mascarpone frosting! You might get shredded trying to keep it away from her.
For all her funny intelligent quirks she has, she's very loving, and has her sassy attitude. Scold her and the attitude takes over, she gets revenge. I come home to her happy to greet me then runs over by the dogs' area and flops out in the sunshine taunting them and doing her best to get my attention before they get some. She also loves to tease the dogs, then gets pissy when they get fed up. And finally someone who torments Yummy as much as he did the other cats when he was young. She's relentless. And he actually is very tolerant, but when he does have enough, watch out! He'll be just as relentless in getting back and pinning her down till she squeals. When he's fully engaged in the game it can sound like a heard of rhinos upstairs.
And for all her wonderful energy, I love how she's such a lazy bug in bed. Getting her to wake and move off of me can take 5 minutes or more. The more you try to move her, the more semi-liquid she becomes and seems to ooze out of your hands to take up more space than she did before you started this endeavor of rising. Most times it is easiest to gently roll her off with the covers.
Gee, can you tell she has us firmly wrapped around her little paws? Yes, it's true. All she has to do is cuddle, purr, and look at me with those eyes, and I immediately become a puddle of goo. And the fact that she's quickly learned to modulate her purr vibration to resonate in my heart, makes the transition all that much sooner. And when she chooses to cuddle, it is always in my arms over my heart, and head and face rubbing my face. Yes, I really love my little girl and yes, she's spoiled. And yes, I do catch my wonderful husband watching her and smiling. I am glad for the smiles and laughter she's brought with her.
