Teddy Bears Just For Me
Before Christmas is all tucked away and forgotten for another year, I’d like to tell you a bit more of Jasper’s four day stay in a house with dog hating cats. The first thing my Maltese, Jasper did when we arrived, was to investigate the Christmas tree. He was close to the bottom of the tree when a black thing exploded in his face. It scared him silly. He came flying back to me, asking to be be picked up. He watched while that black thing, a big cat, sat glaring at him.
Jasper likes cats. He’s never been chased by one. When I put him down he went to meet the kitty. He was beside an easy chair when another huge cat leaped out from behind it, smacking him on his rear end. Now he had two to contend with. If all else fails, bark. For a tiny dog, he has a voice that makes furniture rattle. The cats retreated, for now.
It was like this for days. Jasper would be minding his own business when one or both of the cats would hurtle across the room, slap him with feet full of razor sharp needles then run and hide. He began to fight back. He managed to bite the tail of the black cat. Wow, did that cat ever blow a fuse! It didn’t realize that it was the dog who chomped on his tail, he blamed the other cat. A grand old fight took place. Those two cats were wound up in a ball, the noise was incredible. When they finally quit, the floor was covered with pulled out hair.
On Christmas morning the tree was leaning over. The top ten inches was hanging by a piece of bark. There were ornaments everywhere. The house had been decorated with teddy bears, on the stairs, on the floor in every room, they were missing. The cats were blamed for the tree, but where were the teddy bears.
Behind a couch we found Jaspers stash. All of the teddy bears, plus most of the cats toys. He had teddy’s at home to play with, so why not these? A few were chewed beyond recovery. When the cats came to see what we were doing, Jasper charged. My, he was proud of himself. He had those cats banging into each other trying to get away from that ‘dog.’ My brother loves his cats the way I dote on my dog. We were both in fits watching the antics of cats verses dog.
By the end of our visit Jasper and the black cat were playing together. The tree was destroyed as the cat would climb it, while Jasper tried to follow. My dog finally grabbed a branch in his mouth and yanked. He’s too tiny to do any damage, but oh what fun! The other cat sat sulking. Jasper ignored him. He had better things to do. A tree to play with, a new kitty friend, teddy’s to hide, and the mouth watering smell of turkey cooking.
My brother and his wife are remodeling their house. Next year they are planning on a twelve foot tree. They are also adopting another cat and a kitten. We’re invited. It’s going to be a hoot.
