WHO, US?

You have now learned to see
That cats are much like you and me
And other people whom we find
Possessed of various types of mind.

T.S.Eliot


As you know, dear friends, my darling girl spent some time away from us, and during that time she had the very good fortune to spend some time in a class with a very eminent horticulturist.

In this class she learned a lot about plants that she did not know, and was able to plant a ’stone plant’ in a lovely small glass container. She was quite thrilled with her small creation, and it sat on her desk beside her bed for her to look at and ponder.

Well, now my love is home, and with her came the tiny miracle of Mother Nature’s bounty. We placed it between a couple of other plants we had sitting on a lovely chest we own, and there it sat, drinking in the lovely sunshine and being resplendent in itself, fresh and quite pretty.

This morning when I awoke, the sun just starting to peek out over the horizon, I left our bed and as I stepped into the hallway, felt something akin to grit under my feet. I looked down and to my still blurry eyes I saw dirt and plant scraps all about. On closer inspection did I not find our Vidaloo, our preciously rambunctious kittone sprawled on the floor, entrails of a once ’stone plant’ hanging from her chops …

She lay there looking at me for a split second and was gone, guilt left in her wake.

What was I to do? I couldn’t very well start up the vacuum and wake my darling girl, so the carnage was left, to be visible evidence when Mama awoke.

When it was finally a decent hour to wake Madame, what did I find but our own sweet little ‘muffin’ curled on the bed as if nothing had happened; cats have no conscience at all. At this point I woke Jaliya and said, “You are not going to be pleased with your youngest daughter.” Surveying the wreckage, the trail was plain to see and follow. I went about the task of finding one bedraggled remnant of what was a lovely plant and put it in water; hopefully we’ll save its poor self.

As for Vida — well, she is a cat, and cats do not have the capacity to know right from wrong, plant from toy … so she sits and plays with a paper ball, enjoying her life, waiting for the chance to wreak havoc on something else that catches her attention … waiting …