Humans, I’ve decided, are very strange creatures. Just when I begin to think I understand them, they do something totally unexpected and peculiar. For instance, last time I meowed my diary, I was telling you how Mum and Dad didn’t like me or Maddie going Out The Front. Unfortunately, Maddie doesn’t always take a lot of notice of what they say.
Considering she’s normally such a shy little cat, my sister can be surprisingly adventurous since we’ve been Outdoor Cats. Personally, however much I enjoy exploring the neighbours’ gardens, I do like to pop home regularly for a nice nap on a sofa, and to make sure Mum and Dad are remembering to put our food and water down. But Maddie often stays out for much longer. She’s even told me she’s made friends with some other cats who live a bit further down the road. And she’s always wandering around Out The Front, despite what Mum and Dad have warned us about the dangers.
So one day recently, I heard Mum and Dad mewing together in their strange human language.
‘If they’re going to go Out The Front anyway, we might as well at least make it easier for them to get back indoors quickly if they need to,’ Dad said.
And the next thing we knew, another cat flap had appeared in our house!
Apparently it had been there all the time, in the kitchen door at the side of the house, but it had been blocked up, and had things pushed in front of it so that we couldn’t see it. Now everything in the kitchen had been moved around – our litter trays, our cat tower and water bowl – so that we could get to this cat flap. Maddie and I were very confused for a couple of days. Everyone knows cats like their homes to stay the same. Of course, now we knew this cat flap was there, we had to try it out.
But they block it up again at night-time, when we’re not allowed out. Sometimes I do wonder if they know what they’re doing. Their brains aren’t as sharp as ours, of course, being an inferior species, so we have to make allowances for them.
Here’s another example of strange human behaviour. Mum insists on trying to get us to play with our toys. I actually think she likes playing with them more than we do. We did used to have a lot of fun with the selection of coloured balls they bought us when we first came to live here – but that was when we were still Indoor Cats, and there wasn’t much else to do. We chased the balls around the house for fun, and a bit of exercise. But surely it’s obvious that now we’re allowed outside, it’s far more fun chasing birds and frogs? Actually, now I come to think of it, since it’s started to get cold outside, we don’t see so many of those. I wonder why that is.
Anyway, recently Mum came home with a new toy for us, and I must admit, it’s quite good. It’s got balls inside it, and no matter how hard you whack them with your paws, they don’t come out – they just whizz round and round. She seemed really pleased when I started playing with it.
Maddie hasn’t shown any interest though.
‘What’s the point of it?’ she meowed, watching me a bit disdainfully.
‘Well, it’s quite fun,’ I said. ‘But more to the point, it keeps Mum happy. And there aren’t any frogs around outside at the moment.’
Perhaps all the frogs are hiding, snuggling down somewhere now that it’s cold outside. I don’t blame them. We’re enjoying a bit of snuggling down ourselves, especially when it gets dark and we have to stay inside. Nothing nicer than a soft bed to purr ourselves to sleep in. Goodnight, humans!
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