Since we rescued him in May, Atticus has become the main character in the majority of our stories. He is adventurous, clever, playful, affectionate, and a giant pain in the rear. Our house is his jungle gym, our belongings his playthings. No matter how many toys he has available to him, Atticus will always prefer to swat small things off of tables, turn drinking glasses over, and use our couches as scratching posts.
In the first installment of The Adventures of Atticus the Cat, I want to tell you about Atticus's first meeting with our Christmas tree. Though I plan to wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate for Christmas, I decided tonight to go ahead and put my tree together to make sure all the parts were in the box and all the lights worked. Chris is gone on an audit trip to Gilroy, California, so I thought I would use some of my free time to get a head start. Macy and Atticus were both very interested in the tree when I started taking it out of the box and unwrapping all the parts. The tree is pre-lit and is divided into three sections. After I put the tree together, but before I plugged it in and started fluffing out the branches, my phone rang, so I stepped away. When I turned back to the tree, Atticus's yellow eyes were peering out at me.
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What are you looking at? |
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I don't see what the problem is here. |
After laughing and taking a few photos, I started yelling, "No, Atticus! Get down!" I reached in to pull him out, and that startled him, so he started trying to find a way down. You may know that cats are excellent at climbing upwards, but they are not so great at finding a way back down. He reached out toward the mantel, knocking over picture frames (which I caught before they hit the ground and shattered, thankfully), and I used the opportunity to snatch him down. I gave him a little spanking and put him down. I thought that was the end of the story, but he immediately started right back up the middle of the tree! I started yelling and clapping again, but he was perfectly happy perched up in my tree, and he would not be scared out again. He started chewing on the cords for the lights and on the branches, so I knew it was not OK to leave him alone. When I reached in to grab him, he tried to bite and scratch my hands, and then he moved around the tree where it was harder for me to reach him. At that point, I flew off the handle. I grabbed him around the middle (with no regard for my safety from his claws) and tossed him out the door--partly as punishment and partly to keep myself from beating him senseless. I think he learned his lesson because he has not tried to climb the tree again, but maybe he just learned to wait until I go to bed.
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That sure is a strange looking Christmas ornament. |
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Welcome to my world. |
On an unrelated note, I have deduced from his singed whiskers that Atticus has also recently had a close encounter with one of my candles. He is lucky he is so darn cute.
Love,
Jillerina :*