Yeah! We're finally back home. Theo is re-united with his two rascal siblings Sienna and Mico (Michelangelo). As usual, unless they're eating, they're up to no good.
Their three cat heads are together. The room is exceedingly quiet which can mean only one thing. They're hatching some kind of plot. What do they want? Other than general mischief (which they call "playing") and "sniffing" the world around them, it's always the same thing--more food, more snacks, or the water fountain re-filled.
Theo is the ringleader. Although he may be a bit snarky on the road, he is the gentlest of cats at home. He takes his job as big bro very seriously. He sees himself as a role model for the younger hooligans.
But, even he's not immune to their antics. He's always watching. Somehow he gets drawn in.
If Mico is zooming around the house from living room to den, up and then down the stairs, careening around the corner towards the kitchen, jumping on chairs and then off chairs, Theo won't be too far behind. Where do they get all the energy?
If Mico jumps on the dining room table, spies the lovely basket filled with fruit (wooden fruit--so what's the attraction), and begins using his paw as a baseball bat, smacking the fruit out of the basket and onto the table, and then onto the floor . . . Theo will be right there--smacking the fruit with him. It's gotten so bad, we now have to put Saran Wrap around the basket to keep the fruit where it belongs.
Sometimes Mico is still. But his face tells you he's always thinking.
If Sienna is poised on the banister on the second floor that overlooks the dining room, then Theo is transfixed--can he jump up also and oh so precariously balance himself? Danger beckons. Once or twice Sienna slips, her paw dangling in mid-air, but she rights herself. We're afraid to approach her, afraid we'll spook her and she will lose her balance.
We expect Theo to do the right thing. Meow at her to come down.
"Why would I do that, mom?" he asks.
"Because she's your sister and she might slip off and slam against the dining room table and break a leg or worse," I respond in even tones.
But Theo is Theo. A cat. He sees the world through a cat's eyes. He sums up the danger, the risk of possibility, and stands firm. On little cat paws.
I reconsider. Will she tumble off to her death? Am I being over-concerned? Am I over-thinking?
The night before last, Sienna is posed on our larger than life brown lounge chair, at the very top, her body kind of slanted with the pull of gravity. She's clearly catnapping. And she slips and is midway between falling to the floor or righting herself. I don't know how she does it. She saves herself in the end and, of course, returns to the exact same position. Theo barely blinks an eye.
His opinion--she knows what she's doing. She wasn't born yesterday.
Then Mr. Squirrel appears. On our patio. Looking for an acorn that I guess he's hidden in the hibiscus tree in the planter. The hibiscus is on its last legs. Mr. Squirrel jumps up, smells something and starts digging. Dirt goes flying. Utterly intent on his job, he doesn't notice the three faces staring at him.
Then the protective instincts of the three hooligans kick in. Sienna takes the lead. She bangs her paw against the screen. The squirrel doesn't budge. He is close to the acorn now and nothing is going to deter him.
Mico lets out a screech that I have absolutely never heard before. Yes, he sounds like he's being murdered. And he scares himself--he scoots backwards, slams against the sofa, and in a genuine state of panic, sets off across the room. Looking for safety? He disappears.
Suddenly the other two mesmerized cats unfreeze themselves and race after Mico as if their lives depend upon it.
Sienna runs upstairs and poses on a chair. Theo hides under the guest room bed. Where's Mico? Upstairs, underneath a chair in his comfy bed.
Meanwhile Mr. Squirrel finally unearths his acorn and holds it in his paws like a crowned jewel, totally oblivious to the ruckus he has caused. Fifteen minutes later, Theo and Sienna are fast asleep on a chair upstairs.
And life goes on.
