The Kitten Journals

This is a collection of journal entries from when Michael and Lyz went on vacation. He was staying at Michael's mother's house, and this is written by Caligula (Elaine Bevilacqua typed it up *wink*)

Day 1 - Friday April 23, 2004

Mom and Dad brought me to Granny's house tonight to stay for a week so they could have a much needed vacation. They introduced me to my Granny. I am just a baby, so I had not yet met my Granny. They stayed with me a while to help Granny and I through the initial adjustment. Once they were comfortable leaving me, they went home. I was a little sad. I cried for a few minutes, but Granny picked me up and scratched behind my ears. I knew everything was going to be alright.

So here I am in this strange new house. Boy, I have my work cut out for me. There is so much to investigate, and this is only the first floor of the house. Granny sat on the sofa to watch television and eventually fell asleep. I knew this was my chance to get into something. anything. Let's see, what will it be? I wandered around for a while. At last I found my challenge for the evening. I smell chicken!

Granny forgot to put away a bag that contained a chicken leg leftover from her dinner. I could smell it. I determined where the smell was coming from. It was way up on the kitchen counter. I wondered how I would get to it. I thought long and hard and came up with a plan. Let's see. if I jump from the floor onto the kitchen chair. then jump from the kitchen chair onto the kitchen table, I will be able to jump from the kitchen table to the counter top. I will have to be very quiet so as not to wake Granny.

Yes. My plan worked! Now how do I get to what is inside the bag? There's not very much room up here on the counter to work. Maybe if I throw the bag on the floor I can figure out a way to get into it. This is a lot of work, but I just know it will be worth it. Ah, success at last. Boy, Granny doesn't do a very good job cleaning off the bones when she eats. Uh oh. Maybe I've been TOO quiet. Granny just got up to make sure I am okay. She didn't hear me running around so she wondered where I was. Darn. I've been caught. and after all that work! Oh well, I did get a little taste of the chicken.

Granny went upstairs and brought down a great big stuffed pillow for me to sleep on. She told me it belongs to Lady. Lady is a D.O.G!!! But you know something, it's pretty comfortable. I feel like a Prince lying on this great big pillow.

Granny and I finally fell asleep for a little while. I woke up a few times during the night to continue my investigation, but eventually I found my way to the comfort of curling up next to Granny.

Day 2 - Saturday April 24, 2004

I guess I stayed up too late last night. Granny was ready to get up and start a new day, but I was very content to lie next to her and have my ears and belly scratched. I stretched out and touched Granny's face with my paws trying to convince her not to get up. But she had things to do.

Granny put the coffee on and found a little treat for me; a tiny bit of tuna fish to go with my breakfast. Wow. Thanks Granny. That was really good. It made up for the chicken I didn't get to finish last night.

I thought I had investigated everything there was to investigate downstairs, but what I didn't know is that during the day you can actually see out the family room windows. And guess what's out there? Squirrels. Lots of squirrels. They are as curious about me as I am about them. I can sit on the window sills and watch them. And guess what else is out there? Birds. Granny put some bread out on the deck to entice the squirrels and birds for my entertainment. Then she put a small stool in front of the family room door so I can sit on the stool and look outside. But I discovered I can also sit on the window sills. And, as the squirrels run from the side deck to the back deck and vice versa, I can follow them and just stretch up on my hind legs to look out the windows and see what they are doing. This is really fun!

Granny just opened the front door so I can look outside. I am watching all the cars go by. It's pretty busy out there. I think I'm glad to be indoors with Granny. Oh, I met the mailman.

Well it looks like there will be plenty of things to keep me busy while Mom and Dad are away. Granny said later today we will go UPSTAIRS. I wonder where that is. Well, I can hardly wait.

Day 3 - Sunday April 25, 2004

Well, we did go upstairs yesterday. I really like it up there. There are 4 rooms, so it took me a while to familiarize myself with everything. I like going underneath the beds. I found a spot on the floor at the end of Granny's bed where the sun was shining in and took a nice long nap in the warm sun.

I had such a busy day on Saturday trying to keep up with Granny. She doesn't stay in one spot very long! By bedtime I was so exhausted I slept all night.

Granny gave me fresh food and water this morning for breakfast. I was very hungry and ate it all up. After breakfast Granny opened the basement door and I had yet another area to investigate. Granny is really keeping me busy. We were in the basement today working on a project. Granny made something for me - a scratching post. And guess what? It looks like a cat. Then she cut a door and a window out of a cardboard box so I would have something else to play with. We carried these things upstairs and played with them for a while. Later that day, I forgot that the scratching post was not a real cat. I arched my back and puffed up my tail to let that darn cat know this was MY territory. MY Granny's house. As I neared the other cat, I remembered that it wasn't real. But I gave it a whack anyway just for getting my dander up.

It began to rain this afternoon so I curled up on the rocking chair and took a nap while Granny was busy doing other things.

We just had dinner and I ate all my food again. I'm not sure what Granny has planned for us tonight, but I will be right by her side ready to help her. We played for a while. Granny scrunched up some aluminum foil to make a ball. I had a lot of fun batting it around!

Day 4 - Monday April 26, 2004

We arose at the crack of dawn. I was quite comfortable and didn't really want to get up. Granny said she had to go to work. She gave me breakfast and fixed her coffee. She broke up some old bread and put it outside for the squirrels and birds. really for my entertainment while she was gone. Before she left for work, she scratched me under the ears, gave me one of my little fish treats, and told me she would see me later. She told me to be a good boy. I was.

I was very happy when she came home. "I'm home little buddy". She scratched me under the ears and told me she missed me. Then she gave me one of my favorite treats. She had a surprise for me. Granny brought me 3 new mice because I kept loosing the ones I had. We had dinner and played for a while. Then I helped Granny with some other chores she had to do. Later we went to bed and got a good night's sleep.

Day 5 - Tuesday April 27, 2004

Another work day. Granny gave me my breakfast and commented on what a good appetite I have. She gave me my treat, scratched me behind the ears, said goodbye, and off to work she went.

I played with my toys and watched the birds and the squirrels. When Granny got home we searched the house for my missing mice. I now have 5 mice and they are all missing! When I play with the mice, I like to push them way back under the sofa. Sometimes I loose them under the stove. But I showed Granny where they were. Funny though, it seems there is always at least ONE mouse still missing. Granny and I call that the "missing mystery mouse". I do have one more hiding place, but I'm not going to tell Granny about it yet.

We had dinner and played for a while. Then Granny rearranged the furniture in the family room so she would have ample floor space to begin doing her exercises. She moved the loveseat over to the window wall. I really like it this way. I can lie on the back of the loveseat and look outside. This will be a good place to take a nap. I helped Granny with her exercises. We watched American Idol and then went to bed.

Day 6 - Wednesday April 28, 2004

Another work day. I wish Granny didn't have to go to work. But I kept myself busy during the day. When Granny came home she gave me my treat and prepared my dinner. Then she had to go out again. It was Aunt Jennie's birthday and Granny was going to their house for cake.

Granny wasn't gone too long because she was feeling pretty tired. When she came home she made a little bit of dinner for herself. We decided to take it easy tonight. We played for a little while. Then we went on a "mouse hunt" because most of my mice were missing again. Granny looked in the usual places, but was still coming up 2 mice short. I could see she was getting frustrated, so I decided to reveal my secret hiding place. I jumped up on the sofa and put my paws down at the back of the sofa between the two cushions. Granny caught on to what I was doing and, sure enough, she found the 2 missing mice under the cushions.

We relaxed for the rest of the night. played for a little while, and then went to bed early.

Day 7 - Thursday April 29, 2004

Today, Granny went to the pet store in Dresher to see if she could get more of my favorite treats. I was running a little low and Granny wasn't sure if Mom and Dad had more at home. Her trip to the store did not yield my favorite treats. or any other type of treat for that matter. nor did it yield a fresh supply of Babycat food. We're not going to that pet store again!

Of course, Granny didn't come home empty handed. She did buy something at the pet store. Granny bought me another mouse. This one is different than the others. it is cloth covered and a bright blue color. But my favorite surprise was a little teddy bear. Now I have my very own teddy bear and I just love it. I played with it for a long time that night. It's nice and cuddly soft.

Well, another busy day. Off to bed. I love to curl up next to Granny. She covers me up and scratches my head and ears. I just purr until I fall asleep.

Day 7 - Friday April 30, 2004

When Granny gave me my breakfast this morning, she commented that I looked like I had grown this week. We will know for sure when Mom and Dad see me. If I've grown, they will notice right away.

Well, off to work once again for Granny. Granny stopped at another pet store on the way home from work today. This one is called Petco. She bought my fish treats and more Babycat food. She also found another kind of treat that she can give me once in a while. She said it was hard to find something suitable because most of the treats are too big and hard for a kitten. The treats she bought are small and soft to chew. They really taste good.

After dinner we played with my new toys. Granny would throw one of my mice and I would run after it and bring it back to her to throw it again. We did this for a long time until I got tired. Then we sat down to go through some magazines. Granny was throwing away the ones she didn't want. She had the rest of them on the floor in small piles. Well, they WERE in small piles until I discovered the feel and sound of paper. I was pushing the magazines around and hiding my toys under them.

Well, it's getting late so we better go to bed. Tomorrow is another day. I'm not sure when Mom and Dad are coming home. Maybe it will be tomorrow!

Day 8 - Saturday May 1, 2004

We got to sleep in a little later this morning. It's been a quiet, uneventful day. I slept on the loveseat most of the day. Once in a while I got up to watch the birds. But then I went back to sleep again.

When I arose from my long nap, I discovered another cat in the house. I arched my back and puffed up my tail. I was ready for the attack. Oh darn, I keep forgetting that thing isn't real!

Day 9 - Sunday May 2, 2004

Well I know Mom and Dad will be coming to get me today. I've had a lot of fun staying with my Granny, but I will be glad to see Mom and Dad and go back to my own house.

A little boy came to visit Granny today. His name is Nicholas. He just loved me. He laughed so hard at the way I chased my toys and jumped on them. We played for a for a long time until he had to go home. After he left, I needed another nap.

Hey. someone's at the door. Oh boy. It's Mom and Dad. They are so happy to see me. I showed them all my new toys while they visited with Granny and told her about their vacation. Finally it was time to go home. Granny picked me up and gave me a kiss and a scratch on the belly. Into the car I went. I watched Granny wave goodbye as we pulled away. Granny's going to miss me.

To see the rest of the photos from the day we picked him up click here.