January 22, 2024
Who knew? Apparently Flambé knew! And once she informed me of her January pick of celebratory “Days,” I knew …,,, and then wondered why this came as a surprise! After all, cats are insatiably curious, and Flambé is no exception. It’s just that we don’t always speak the same language …… her “mee yow” can be hard to understand, and my reply, “whah aht” must sound like Greek to Kat.
“National Answer Your Cat’s Question Day is a day dedicated to playfully imagining that your cat is asking you questions and answering them in a fun and creative way. It’s a lighthearted celebration that encourages pet owners to engage with their cats.”
So when we woke this morning, someone must’ve gifted us a fully-functional universal interspecies translator because Flambé was speaking my language, and I hers! Instead of her usual “mee-yow-yow-yow,” what I clearly heard was “feed me now, but not that dry kibble, a gravy soaked chow with juicy morsels to nibble.”
While uttering and sputtering my flabbergasted reply, Kat hopped matter-of-factly into my arms. Looking me right in my left eye she said, “I have always spoken clear and precise English, as did my mother and her mother before her. It’s you who have stubbornly refused to listen. But it’s about time you reciprocate. Let’s celebrate National Answer Your Cat’s Question Day with this burning question ……. “
“Why are there so many rabbits in my yard?”
Of all the questions I could’ve imagined Kat asking on this wondrously unbelievable January 22, this one didn’t even rank in the top 100! But wishing to make amends for my years of misunderstanding, I not only acknowledged the exponential growth of bouncing and burrowing bunnies, but plunged through the literature in search of an answer. Here’s what I shared with Flambé:
“There’s nothing more exciting to a rabbit than a yard full of intentionally or carelessly cast away debris and other things. Rabbits don’t see your trash as junk. Instead they view your yard rubbish as building materials for constructing their underground burrows and nests.”
“Unless you change your rubbish disposal habits, you’ll continue to grow your collection of fuzzy yard rabbits!” I emphatically explained to Flambé. “And much much more sooner, way way before later, underground crowding will force hiring a relocator to relocate the billions and billions of bunnies, and you haven’t got anywhere near enough money!”
Kat sighed with dismay, “I’ll lose all of my friends. But I agree that it’s time for my bad habits to end.” If it’s fine for a few fuzzy rabbits to stay, I’ll take away all unused rubbish today, ok?” And she purrrrred and purrrrred.
How could I look into those big emerald green eyes and deny Kat a few furry friends? So I said. “Of course it’s ok, especially on such a fun celebratory day.”
And we spent the remainder of the day gabbing about this and that;
we had a wonderful time!
What’s your favorite cat, real or imaginary? Do you speak “cat?” Does your cat speak to you? How did you celebrate National Answer Your Cat’s Question Day?
a curious nature 