The Pumpkin Dance

At barely two years of age, our dear Pumpkin is still very much a kitten--he's mischievous, inquisitive, and can be utterly ridiculous. Sometimes all of those qualities merge into the trifecta of entertainment.

Our senior cat, Kyla, eats dry kibble and only dry kibble--we purchase 7-pound bags of the stuff. Dad thought it would be fun to see what Pumpkin would do with an empty bag; would he attack it, dive into it, or ???

The tango began slowly, with Pumpkin circling the sack. A soft paw tentatively prodded. Sniffing, sniffing. Pounce! Bite! Then more prodding.

Though the sack was as large as the kitty, he managed to smack it several feet away where it fell to rest in front of the coffee table. "Darn" I thought to myself--now I won't be able to see what he's doing. How wrong I was. Both cat and sack became animated. Jaws would clench the sack and toss it aloft. Then in the next moment cat would fly upwards, as though propelled by the sack, and then descend and pounce again. This went on for 10 minutes or more, and then....the room grew silent.

Pumpkin tired? Bored? Sleeping?

No, Pumpkin had torn a hole in the rear of the bag. His inquisitiveness (or hunger for the wonderful aromas lurking within) had now become his undoing for his head is stuck in the sack. With the laughter that erupted in the room I guess he knew he would have to solve this dilema on his own and so, in typical cat-like fashion, he circled the room.

Backwards.

Kitty Sibling?

Not our "cow kitty" but a close facsimile

About two weeks ago we noticed a new kitty wandering around our garden. We've named her the "cow kitty" since she is black and white. But poor little thing is thin and dirty (the white is more a dingy grey). She seems to enjoy relaxing under or near the bird feeder. I've not seen her chase a bird (and I haven't found any "remnants" of a kill). I think she gravitates to that part of our yard because it is directly in front of our kitchen--the hub of activity in our home.

Pumpkin has certainly noticed her. But his reaction to her is significatly different from his "opinion" about other cat visitors to our backyard. He doesn't hiss, moan, or yell. He hops onto the window sill, tilts his head to and fro, and occasionally utters a low warble.

I'm beginning to wonder if they are, perhaps, siblings.

They are about the same size, have the same head shape, and the same l-o-n-g tail. Only one characteristic of "cow-kitty" is different.

Dear kitty is decidedly cross-eyed.