Hi all, Gibbs here.

GibbsI thought I’d tell you about a momentous decision I’ve made.  We cats’ often get a bad press.  You know the kind of thing: ‘lazy’; ‘spends all day lying on the sofa’; ‘sleeps all day then out half the night terrorising the wildlife’.  So, I thought I’d change that perception.  After a discussion with Casey, who also has a job, I’ve decided to become an interior designer. (See Bilbo who decided to become a carpenter.)

I’ve already begun.  Mum has got a good taste, it must be said, in colour schemes.  Our house has a lovely tranquil feel to it and many visitors say how relaxing it is, or how nice.  I thought I’d add the benefit of my four years of being on this planet to Mum’s expertise.  Between us, we’ll be an awesome force. 

 

Gibbs' artwork

To begin my new career as an interior designer, I ripped some wall paper off the wall in the hall.  I was trying to create an abstract pattern, but it doesn’t look as good as it did in my head.  My actual design doesn’t match up to my imagined design.   Casey got the blame for my paw-work, though, as he was doing a ‘kitty loaf’ impression near my creation.  I’d long gone, retreating to my thinking spot under the sofa bed in the back bedroom, trying to find some other ideas to wow our visitors.

‘Casey, did you rip the wall paper?’

Casey, stoic as ever, didn’t give the game away.

‘Oh, Casey, that’s not a good thing to do. Now Mummy’s got to think of another solution so that you won’t do it again.’

Casey joined me under the sofa bed to let me know that Mum wasn’t happy with my design. 

Gibbs' artwork on the opposite wall Later, I had another good idea.  I’d create an abstract pattern somewhere else in the hall way.  So, I did.  I tore off some more wall paper on the other side of the hall.  Not quite opposite my first attempt, as the radiator was in the way, but as near as I could make it.  It also doesn’t match the original design, but hey ho, even Pablo Picatso couldn’t get his pictures right. They were all weird, weren’t they?

When Mum saw the next ‘design’ and Casey wasn’t around, I think she twigged it wasn’t him.  As that left me in the frame, I think her powers of deduction kicked in.  This was verified on another day when she actually caught me standing up, trying to improve on my first design.  Trouble is, when there’s a little bit of wall paper sticking up, the invitation is there, isn’t it, you just have to pull it, don’t you?

Mum told Casey and me about Charlie.  He was here a long time ago and he liked interior design as well.  Of all the cats Mum’s had, only me and Charlie had any artistic tendencies.  Apparently, there was a horrible wall paper on the wall in the hall when Mum first moved into this house.  At the time, she had to ‘live with it’ because she couldn’t afford to decorate.  But Charlie had other ideas.  In his defence, he was only a curious kitten with a playful, inquisitive nature, so Mum said. 

Garfield and tiny Charlie Mum came home from work one evening.  She had Biggles and Garfield, who were 7 years old, and tiny Charlie who was only about 10 or so weeks old.  In the hall way, a huge wide strip of wall paper had been pulled off.  It went from just near the skirting board right up to the ceiling.  As Biggles and Garfield had never done anything like that before, Mum deduced it had been Charlie.  Sure enough, she caught him later, going back to the same spot to try and improve on his paw work. 

So, don’t just dismiss us felines as being indolent, lazy, aloof (Casey’s favourite word).  We are very creative, artistic, and when the Mews is on us, we can do great things.   

Till the next time

Gibbs xxx        

 

 

 

A Cats Purr

"Cats make one of the most satisfying sounds in the world: they purr ...

A purring cat is a form of high praise, like a gold star on a test paper. It is reinforcement of something we would all like to believe about ourselves - that we are nice."

Roger A Caras