I couldn't get back to sleep this morning so around 5:30 a.m. I got up and went to make coffee. I was really surprised to see Amber waiting for me at the door. Although Amber is bigger and heavier than Mouse, she is not the dominant kitty of the two. She tends to hold back while Mouse pushes forward ahead of her in anything.
Up until this morning, Mouse has always been the one waiting for me or TB at the bedroom door. She'll circle around me once and then, her tail straight up in the air, she marches down the hall to the kitchen. She'll look over her shoulder to make sure I'm following. She'll circle around my feet, meow, and just generally get in the way while I'm opening up a packet of cat food.
Amber was at the door this morning. I was happy to see her because she mostly hides during the day. I wondered, though ... where is Mouse? Amber always hung out in the living or dining room while I got the cats' breakfast. She wouldn't come in for her share until Mouse had eaten her fill. Mouse would eat from both bowls! I thought that was pretty unfair so if I could catch her, I'd carry Amber in to get some food before Mouse ate it all.
Of the two, Mouse will more often seek us out than Amber will. Mouse will sometimes jump up on the sofa between TB and me for some loving. She'll follow us into the bedroom and hop up on the bed looking for affection. If Amber approaches us, she'll pick a spot out of reach and lie down. She seems to be content with being within eyeshot of us. More rare, she'll sometimes jump up to TB's office window or she'll get on the corner table behind me and meow so I can comb her long fur.
Mouse loves to play. Her favorite game with me or TB is chasing the belt from my bathrobe and batting it around. She'll basically chase anything that moves. Amber doesn't join in the fun. She watches from a few feet away. TB found out that Amber loves to chase a penlight shone on the floor. When Mouse wants to join in, she just sort of pushes Amber away. Amber doesn't fight back and just sits.
Mouse and Amber chase each other all through the house in the early morning hours. They will wrestle each other and roll all over the floor. It's funny and I think they are playing, but I'm not sure.
Amber has a very soft, shy sounding voice. Mouse's can be plaintive and very loud when she wants to be heard. If Mouse is shut into a room and she wants to get out, the whole house can hear her!
That is what is worrying me this morning. She always comes for her breakfast, always! So where is she? And if she's stuck in someone's bedroom, why hasn't she cried to get out? All the scary thoughts go through my mind: she's hurt, she's sick, she's ... but I don't want to think that.
There is one other, possibly hilarious possibility. Maybe she's shut in Billy's room. Billy takes Buddy the Lab up to sleep in his room every night. If Mouse was under the bed, she'd be stuck there. She wouldn't want to come out with the dog there. She wouldn't want to bring Buddy's attention to her by meowing.
I hope.
So I've been enjoying Amber's company this morning. She's spoken to me a couple of times. We played with a length of purple ribbon. She's let me comb her. She's been rubbing against me to be petted. I love it! But I still worry ... where is Mouse?
Posted by Cassie at December 14, 2003 06:46 AM