Tuesday, February 24, 2009

How to feed a cat in 10 steps or less


Sunday afternoon I was sitting around, playing about on the computer, when I realized that it was February 22nd. That was the same date that we adopted Millie last year. That meant is was - tah dah! - her first Cat-iversary! Woo hoo!

It's strange to think of our lives without Millie around. That's especially true in the mornings. Millie has a VERY specific morning schedule that we must adhere to, lest she pester me until I get it right.


1. After Tim leaves for work, Millie plants herself by the open bedroom door & looks at me as if to say, "Get up, lazy bones. I feel the need to feed."
2. I walk out onto the landing & scratch Millie on the head. As I descend the stairs, Millie takes a fake swipe at my leg with her paw. She never actually makes contact with me or my clothing when she does this, so I totally don't get it.
3. Millie waddles to food dish & looks at me expectantly. She may meow as I get out her food.

4. I put a scoop of dry food in her bowl. Then I must pet her. The petting is an important step for her. If I don't pet her, she'll give me The Look. If I've already left the room, she may find me & give me The Look. And if that doesn't work, she'll poke my leg with her paw. If I ignore her, she just keeps prodding at my leg & The Look gets slightly more severe.
5. Millie eats just a bite or two, then waddles into the living room & positions herself in front of the glass doors.
6. By this time I have usually opened the drapes so Millie can look outside. If not, she will find me and remind me to do this (see step 4).

7. Millie stares outside. She may also meow - her way of asking to be let out on the back deck.
8. If Millie goes outside, it's only for a minute or two - just long enough to make sure there are no squirrels invading her precious deck.
9. Millie returns to the kitchen to eat more of her breakfast. But, again, she wants to be pet while she eats. No, not just wants - needs. As mentioned before, she will hunt me down, stare at me, and repeatedly tap my leg with her paw until I give in to her whims.
10. After a few more strokes along her back, Millie settles in and happily eats her breakfast.


Other than this, Millie is very laid back. She naps in sunbeams. She hangs out on the couch while we play Rock Band. She curls up by my side every night so that I can cuddle her like a doll from my childhood. She's a wonderful cat. She's just picky in the morning.

Hey, we all have our quirks, right?

2 comments:

lizgwiz said...

She's so cute! Doesn't she need a friend or ten? The only thing more adorable than a cute cat is a PILE of cute cats. Hee.

pollystyrene said...

Aww, I still swear she's related to Albus. Both sweet tuxedo cats.

His food ritual is to meow his fool head off starting at about 10:00pm (we feed him at night so that he's not doing this in the morning) until we go into the office where his bowls are. He does this frantic little dance around your legs while you get the can and then jumps on the little chest of drawers where the bowls are just as you're about to dump it in, blocking you from doing so. Then he gobbles it all down.