All's NOT quiet on the (feline) Western front

Tess has been hissing very angrily at the boys in the last few days. Now, whenever the three of them sort of come together at a cross roads, they ALL end up hissing and YELLING at each other. This is very distressing. In the three years Cubby has been ALIVE, this is THE first time he's EVER hissed and it's not a pretty picture. And now once one starts, they all end up going at each other. They chase Cubby under the bed in the guest room. I am not even sure what started this. But it began a few days ago. And I think it started with Tess. I end up supervising every encounter "It's ok pussers, it's OK." (repeat repeat repeat.) The Vet thinks Tess may have an injury and that's what precipitated the whole event. She doesn’t “act” injured. And I’ve stroked her face, head, body, and paws.....trying to sooth her. She doesn’t snap at me (as if in pain) so nothing that I can see is wrong. Cubby has always played with her (HIS view, not her's) and this may have been one time too many. He looks very sad. And this makes me sad. And Cubby is now very very jumpy. He has ALWAYS been the stabilizing & mellow force in this feline household. Now they're all on edge. I've been giving them all extra individual attention and lots of treats ad playing.
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Sunday, two in the afternoon: Jeremy is being really really mean to Cubby.  Cubby was eating about an hour ago and Jeremy came along and smacked him accros his face WHILE he was eating!  Cubby hissed and growled with a hurt look in his face as if to say, "What did I do to make you mad?  I try to be loving and sweet.  I guess it's just not good enough for you."  Jeremy chased him into the basement and I followed them.  It took 15 minutes to try and talk him out of a corner.  I had treats, toys, talking to him the whole time.....and he had a cowardly stance, like an animal that's been abused.  That was the first time this whole mess this week made me tear up.  Cubby has been THE most happy-go-lucky cat Ive ever (been owned by) or ever seen.  He's "everyones' friend."  I don't like to spend a lot of time in the basement because it smells down there, no matter how clean I keep the boxes.  But I was sitting on the floor by the treadmill, trying to talk him out of the corner.

Tomorrow I take Tess to the vet because I *think* this all started with her, but now I'm not so sure.  It's sort of like "This is the house that Jack built..."

Halloween Secret Santa

Yesterday in my driveway, something sparkly caught my eye. It was at the top of my driveway, sort of resting against the house in the rocks that surround the bushes there. It was one of those orange plastic pumpkins with the black handle that we all used as kids when we went Trick-Or-Treating and it had a couple of things poking out the top. Hmmm, I thought. Did someone get the date wrong and wanted to Trick-Or-Treat early but then decided they didn’t want their stuff and tossed it aside?

I opened the note that was also sticking out the top. “You’ve been BOO’D,” it said. Chain letter?? NO. Apparently there’s a “social committee” in the neighborhood (WHO KNEW?????) This is sort of a Halloween “Secret Santa.” COOL!! The note had a ghost on one side with the “You’ve been BOO’D” and on the other side the explanation:

1. Enjoy your treat/s.
2. Place the BOO sign (on the back of this sheet) on your front door.
3. Within two days, make two copies of this note/sign and make two treat buckets.
4. Secretly deliver the copy and treat bucket to two neighbors who don’t have a sign on their door.
5. Keep an eye on nearby front doors to see how far and fast it spreads by Halloween.

In my bucket (Libby, hand me your bucket) there was a box of “Fiddle-Faddle”, a Christmas theme note pad, and a little baggy of candy. It’s the thought that counts....(don’t eat candy, don’t like Fiddle-Faddle.) I love the idea of giving to our neighbors, and I especially like the “secret” part of the Secret Santa concept. I get to observe the joy of the person given to, without them feeling like they need to reciprocate.

Today at Target I stood in front of the trial size section and thought I’d get my goodie bag stuff from there, instead of candy. Soooo, I got toothbrushes, toothpaste, Kleenex, miniature first aid kit, Halloween paper towels and individually packed compact fluorescent light bulbs. I don’t like the whole commercialization of holidays. So this is my way of making use of the gift giving of this time of year. I made my copies of the sign and the note, put all the stuff into cute Jack-o-lantern bags and made my deliveries this afternoon. FUN! It will be interesting to see how many signs go up in the next few days. :-)