Just a Saturday morning

On Saturday morning when Peep went in to see Ginger and the kittens she noticed that they were now in a large cardboard box. That is, from the doorway she could see the box and hear the kittens meowing, with Ginger telling them to please be quiet, as Jay was probably still asleep.

Peep called out to Ginger, “Good morning. How are you all today?”

Ginger’s head appeared above the edge of the box, and she said, “Oh thank the Higher Cat. Someone to talk to! Come on over, Peep.”

Peep approached, and decided to sit on the armchair, as she would then be able to see in the box. Daddy had obviously swiveled it around so that he could sit in it and admire the kittens. “Wow, five kittens make a lot of noise, don’t they?”

“Oh, do you think they’ll wake up Jay?” Ginger was quiet worried about this. She knew she was an uninvited guest, and wanted to be as unobtrusive as possible.

“Oh, he can sleep through thunderstorms. This won’t wake him up.” Peep examined the kittens, and saw that their eyes were open, and that they looked much more like cats now. When they had been born their ears were all smushed down to their heads, but they were almost standing up now.

Peep had always wondered if cats were born with the ability to talk, or if they learned how. Well, now she knew. These kittens were mainly making nonsense sounds or saying “Ma”. She could see why Ginger would be happy to have someone to talk to.

“When did you get the box, Ginger?”

“Oh, Jay put us in it yesterday when he found the brown tiger in the kitchen. I don’t know how he managed to get that far, but his eyes were open and he’s moving around much better than the others. He’s the explorer of the group. I’ve learned to keep a much closer eye on him!” Ginger shook her head.

“Wow, this motherhood thing is a lot tougher than I thought it would be. Can I help you with anything? Do you want me to get LT?” Peep personally thought Ginger looked completely exhausted, and needed a break. It obviously wouldn’t be possible to sleep with even one of those little voices screeching near her.

“No, stay and talk for a few minutes, and if he doesn’t come in, you can go find him. He spent a good part of the night with them, the dear. For a fill-in daddy he’s doing a marvelous job. I bet he always wanted kittens of his own because he seems to be loving this opportunity. My owner wants to take us home, and I think I’ll let her in a couple of days. She’s been coming every day and bringing me special treats and taking pictures, but it’s not the same as being able to sneak in at any hour of the day or night to look at her grand-kittens. I also want to be gone by the time your other owner gets home. I know she’s a lovely woman, but she’s going to want to have her home the way she left it, and not with an additional six cats!”

“That’s very considerate, Ginger. You’re a very polite cat, you know that?”

“Well, I was raised with good southern manners, you know. I was frankly appalled when I moved up here and saw how some cats treated each other, but I figured out that I’d had quite a sheltered upbringing, and that probably there were cats just as rude down where I’d come from.” Ginger shook her head. She thought that if everycat would be considerate, that life would be much more, well, civilized.

Just then the brown tabby’s head appeared at the top of the box. “Eek, monster,” the kitten shrilled and dropped back into the box.

“Now, that’s no monster, little one. That is Peep, and she is a friend of ours. Go back up there and say hello.” Ginger’s voice was soft, but firm. Peep was personally glad that she was not one of the kittens.

“Hello,” said the tabby. He looked at her with great curiosity. His little eyes were so wide and he didn’t look convinced that she wasn’t a monster.

“Hi, I’m Peep. I’m a cat just like you and your mommy.” Peep waited for an answer, but didn’t get one. The kitten just dropped back into the box.

“He’s the only one who really talks at all right now, and his vocabulary seems to consist of ‘monster’, ‘hello’ and ‘more’. I’m afraid LT taught him monster. He took a look at him yesterday when his eyes had opened and told him he was a little monster. He was being affectionate, but somehow when he explained to the kitten what a monster was, the kitten decided that all cats were monsters, and that the word monster meant cat. We’ve tried to explain, but I think it’s above his head right now, so don’t take it personally.”

At this point, LT entered the room, yawning. “Good morning, little family. How are you all today?” He looked very happy, but a bit tired.

Hearing his voice, the kittens all started to meow loudly, and Peep decided that it was time for her to let the family have a little time together. Anyway, she needed to go see how the turnips were doing.

Photo courtesy of mismisimos- http://www.flickr.com/photos/mismisimos/236970698/