Something seems to be different with my parents these last several months. It seems like every other week I get a call from Mom letting me know she and Dad are going on a road trip. I don’t really see them as tour bus kind of people but I may be surprised some day. So, I think it’s great they are enjoying their well deserved retirement after long careers and raising three kids and I’m happy to do anything to help out when they’re gone. My only problem is that one of “the boys” is making my job a little harder than it should be. “The boys” are my parents’ two cats, 7 year old brothers who are as different as night and day. As kids our family always had one cat who never achieved the status that their Tom and Jerry have today.
Kittens needing homes are as common in veterinary hospitals as needles and syringes, and after a few years of being cat-less mom asked me to find a pair of kittens that could keep each other company when they traveled. It was only a matter of days before someone dropped off a litter of 5 little guys and gals born to a wild untouchable cat near an apartment complex. After a few days of love and attention the kittens gentled down and mom came in to take a look. I don’t really remember how she picked the two she did but after a few naming attempts, Tom and Jerry became part of the Johnson household.
Tom looks like a giant black bowling ball with a small poof at the top-that would be his head. He’s fat and lazy (although mom tells me she’s working on it), like a good cat should be and not too near the top of his species in terms of smarts. As you’ll read later, this is the part that I am struggling with. Jerry is a small, agile gray tabby fitting the stereotype of an intelligent and loving companion. So, back to the road trips’¦ My sister and I share cat duty while Mom and Dad are gone. They do best when kept to their normal routine which involves putting them to bed in their own room at night, closing their cat door to raccoons and other nighttime visitors, and letting them out early the next morning. My sister does the morning part and I am responsible for the nighttime ritual. Bedtime is 9:30 or 10 so I head over to put the boys to bed- – what should be a simple task. The problem is, Tom has decided to ignore his curfew and stay out late. To save myself embarrassment (I won’t go into the specifics) but I have found myself trying different things to outsmart Tom in an attempt to get him to come in. And as I am going through some of my routines I am glad no one (other than Tom , I’m sure) is watching me as it might certainly raise some concern about my sanity. Mom, who never has problems with them has even given me some pointers, none of which have worked for me. My goal is to be more cunning (and smarter) than Tom- – I’m driven to be the winner in this game I really do not want to play. The boys’ bedtime has become a source of anxiety and frustration for me and I had what some might consider an unhealthy obsession with my mission. So, its 9:30PM, time to head up to my parents house. They’ll be home tomorrow so tonight is my last chance to claim victory – -the score is tied-Tom 1-me 1. Maybe for Christmas my parents will buy me that pair of night vision binoculars I have been talking about. Wish me luck!!
