Bending the Rules

My cats are allowed to go most places in the apartment. They are permitted on the furniture, in the bathroom, on the bed and, as readers may have seen from previous entries, on the dining table. But they may not be on the kitchen counters. In my previous homes, they were allowed on a counter very briefly, in order to jump further onto the top of the refrigerator. But in this apartment, there is not the room for a cat on top of that appliance, and therefore their excuse for climbing onto the counters has been nullified.

There are exceptions to every rule, however. In his continual quest for food, Parker likes to explore the kitchen counters and cupboards. (He is not starving; his weight has been constant for several months, despite my attempts to reduce it.) I discourage this, and when I heard from the bedroom noises in the kitchen that indicated my foster-cat was again hunting, I emerged to admonish him once more.

But the orange boy was not after food this time. For the past few days, we had had tremendous winds, tremendous even for southern Alberta. They stripped the trees of their leaves, ready to fall as they were, and tossed about those on the ground. At my kitchen window, a small dust-devil seized the debris and threw it circles, even against the pane. This attracted Parker’s attention, and he wanted a closer look.

I like to see the cats interested in things, distracted from the routine. I couldn’t, therefore, tell the sturdy-boy to get down from his perch while he was so enthralled by the show being put on by nature, inches away. As you can see, he became quite involved in it. So, for several minutes, I bent the rules for him, and he enjoyed himself. After all, if something bends, it doesn’t break, right?