A New Mouser

You might think I have an easy life, but I beg to differ. Without me, where would this household be? I'm the one who greets everyone who comes near the house -- friend or foe. Who constantly stands guard over this property, regardless of the hour? Thats' right, me. (You might call it sleeping, but think of one time that I didn't wake up the instant someone put their little toe on our driveway. That's what I thought.) And who keeps people healthy, active, and in shape around here by constantly being ready (and insistent) to go outside for walks, rides, runs, or skis? Again, yours truly.

In short, I am the glue that holds this household together.

I'm sad to say that I can't say the same for the cats in this household. All they do is lay around and act lazy. Their sole contribution is to keep the local rodent population under control (such menial work, in my opinion). And, for awhile, I even questioned how well they were keeping up with that one simple task. Now Scout, of course, our 13-year-old mouser has a reputation to fall back on. You can't argue with 13 years of results. Not only is he efficient, he is generally in the habit of lining his victims next to his cat dish. Recently, however, Scout was banned from eating regular cat-food, in lieu of "old-cats" food (it's rather tasty -- I have tried it). But, because Waffle and I are very interested in Scout's new diet, he now eats in the bathroom. At his age, how humiliating! So, I think he may have gone on strike for awhile. And besides, where is he supposed to line up his kills now that he doesn't eat at the bottom of the basement steps? I think Scout actually enjoys mousing, so he recently got back at it. But he left the dead mouse behind the front room couch. He's still confused about what to do.

Waffle, on the other hand, has been a free-loader since the day he arrived. In, out, in, out. Meow, I want this. Purr, I want that. Never have I seen a bigger slacker. Kitten sleeps all day, then goes outside to party all night. Until my human Alison made a discovery a few days ago. Or should I say "discoveries": she found 4 dead mice in the backyard. Well, now, little kitten, maybe you have been making yourself useful!

Well, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one shouldering the load around here. But, make no mistake about it: I am the most important personality in this household -- two-legs or four. And that's not just my opinion; that's a fact.