SOTK 2019

State of the Kitties Report: Summer 2019
by Tanner

(chief house cat)

Some things have changed since the last time I posted. Camilla, the 20-year-old cat matriarch, died recently and was buried near Dylan and Olivia. The kitties, Otis and Charlotte , are a year old and are all grown up and have their own interests. And I have a new job. 

The kitty Otis has always been scientifically inclined.  For a while, he studied string theory, as you can see in this video that Mommy posted on Facebook. 

You can also see it on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/becky.mushko/videos/10214820297961022/

But Otis has given that up and now studies geology. Here he is with part of his rock collection. He can throw the little white rocks, but he can't move the big rock no matter how hard he bats it.

The kitty Charlotte isn't as experimental as Otis so she likes to think inside the box. Sometimes she thinks  inside several boxes.

But getting back to my new job: For a couple of years I have done night rat patrol in the garage. Well, Alfreda helped, but I did most of the work and I was the boss. I got so good at it that rats stopped coming into the garage and stayed outside. That's when Mommy offered me and Alfreda jobs as perimeter patrol cats, and we accepted. We have to walk around the house several times a day and check under bushes. It is a big job because there are a lot of bushes. Here I am contemplating a spot of sunlight and looking at suspicious leaves. 

We have to work for Jim-Bob, who has been in charge of outdoor cat-work since George died a couple of years ago, and he can be a demanding boss. But he often takes breaks after he's gotten us to do cat-work.

He makes us attend cat-meetings. Here is a picture of one of the meetings. Jim-Bob is showing us where we will work that day, or we are more or less looking in the same direction. Even if we don't share his vision, we pretend we do.

Chloe, who is Jim-Bob's sister, also works for him, but she mainly does her own thing. Sometimes she stays out all night.

  

Anyhow, we mostly stay outside all day. When Alfreda and I come in for the night, we are exhausted.

I gave my rat patrol job to my kitty Arlo who has given up being an artist and decided to do meaningful work, so he stays in the garage at night now. I don't have a picture of him working because it is dark in the garage. Sometimes Alfreda or I will join him, but we are usually too tired after working all day (see above picture) and it's not like rats are over-running the garage.

I still have my part-time job, promoting my mommy's books. If she sells books, she buys cat treats, so it's a win-win situation. If you haven't read her books, you might go to Amazon and take a look. Click on the title and you'll go right to the Amazon page: Patches on the Same Quilt, Them That Go, and Miracle of the Concrete Jesus. These are also available as ebooks.

  

You can learn about my mommy's books on her website, too: beckymushko.com (Remember, books sold = treats for Tanner.) I promise I will share the treats with the other cats.

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