November 16, 2014

Josie at 14

Lately our old cat Josie has taken to sitting on the arm of the couch in the Little House and squawking at me, demanding Party Mix cat treats. The noise she makes is very loud, and she puts her whole small body, all her effort, into producing it. She throws her head forward and out comes a sound that cannot be ignored.

“It’s like having a very demanding parrot,” Rob remarked the other day with a smile.

“It is!” I said, and I ran and got the bag of treats, hoping to quiet Josie down.

After I fed Josie her treats (which she nibbled from among the couch cushions), I went and sat at my desk and tried to do some work. Rob was sitting at his desk, working too.

After about 10 minutes, Josie squawked again. I fed her a few more treats, then returned to my desk.

After another five minutes, she squawked one more time.

“So, do you like having a pet parrot?” I asked Rob.

“No,” Rob smiled. “It sucks.”

But we both went over and gave Josie her third round of treats and petted her silky old head. Then Rob tried to get her to settle down. He carried her over to her twin sister, Foxy (or “Foo”), who was sleeping nearby on a blanket. “Now, Josie, why don’t you cuddle with your little Foo sister?” he said. “Foo says there’s a lot of cuddling to do. She needs you to help out, okay?”

And Foxy started licking Josie’s head and kept licking it until Josie fell asleep.