In finishing up packing for my imminent move to a new apartment, I have been reminded of one of Molly’s many foibles. She hates the sounds of tape — tape being unspooled, torn, applied, or removed. When any of these things happen she makes a growly, annoyed meow. Unfortunately for her, during a move it’s difficult to avoid the use of tape. She is spending a lot of time angry.
Cheeses Molly will consume: extra-sharp aged Cheddar; cottage cheese.
Cheeses Molly will not consume: provolone; any variety of blue; Parmesan/Romano; Swiss; feta; paneer; brie; Gouda, most especially cumin Gouda; Trader Joe’s shredded Mexican blend cheese; Cheshire; mozzarella; Somerdale cheeses, including Red Dragon, Tintern, and Black Mountain; colby; pepper jack; mild or medium Cheddar.
I should have named Molly “Blaze”, perhaps. She has a white stripe along the length of her nose and between her eyes, like any proper horse named Blaze does. Additionally she gallops at high speed when she has someplace to go. Such as behind the couch.
A song for Twinkie: “You’re such a lovely animal, we’d like to take you home with us, we’d love to take you home.”
The most incredible thing happened! I was sitting on the couch, minding my own business, when suddenly Molly began to heave and retch. Then she puked on the carpet nearby. This is not unusual in itself, since Molly vomits about one every two weeks, on average. What set this particular vomit occurrence apart from all previous vomits was its sheer volume. It had to be seen to be believed. In fact, I wish I’d taken a photograph. It probably consisted of more than a cup of partially-deconstituted Prescription Diet cat food. Molly’s puddle of vomit was approximately a foot wide, and six inches across — a massive ovaloid pile of cat puke significantly larger than most human pukes that I see in the alley behind my building.
And then… and then… she puked a second time, and the volume was almost as huge! How is this possible? How could her stomach hold so much food? Indeed, I think this last question gets to the heart of the matter — Molly’s eyes were way bigger than her stomach in this instance, and she literally ate until she was stuffed… overstuffed, actually. I hope the experience was uncomfortable enough that she’s learned a valuable lesson about gluttony.
Twinkie has pretty eyebrows! I don’t know why I’ve never noticed that before.
Cats are basically like small children who are forever making messes because they don’t understand what tidiness is, much less why or how to clean up after themselves. And so you must go around sweeping the floors and picking up their poop. Such is the life of a cat-parent.
The other morning I awoke to find my two cats coming at me from both sides, as if they were a pair of lionesses on a hunt, stalking their prey. Twinkie was on my left and Molly was on my right. Instead of going at my jugular vein, however, they sat down next to me on the bed and began to purr.
I asked Molly if she wanted to sniff the groceries. She did.
As I was eating egg salad, Molly, curled up on the top level of the cat tree, opened a single eye to peer at me. When I peered right back, she averted her gaze, feigning disinterest. I know she covets my egg salad.
