The Cat Who Came to Tea...

    Two new feline friends have come to live at Johnson House, and how my life has changed!  Two young retired gentlemen kitties are livening up things around the house.  Miss Lily and Twinkle, my two older cats, are beginning to tolerate the newcomers.  Lily and Twinkle are around 11 years old, making both cats much more subdued.  I have never had to watch out for things they might get into around the house.  If I sat to watch a bit of television in the evenings, my two feline buddies would curl up with me as we spent a quiet night at home together.  But now things have changed.  The newcomers are all of two years old, and are so active that I wonder when they ever sleep.  The fluffy one, Honey Bunny, is so cute I can hardly stand it. His big round eyes just look at you as if to say, "I'm so cute, how could I have done anything wrong?"  He does somersaults when I rub his curly belly and scratch his back.  He's a real heartbreaker, and who would ever suspect that he is a bully who beats the tar out of his two year old buddy, Squirt.  I rarely get to name the rescued animals that come to live at Johnson House.  Squirt seems an unfortunate name, and often I accidentally call him Sport.  We'll see how the future goes on that name thing.  One or the other will stick over the years.  I believe that cats have many names.  It must have something to do with the nine lives idea.  At any rate, as everyone figures out the pecking order of critters and the household routine, Honey Bunny seems a bit calmer now.  He takes frequent naps during the day along with Twinkle and Lily.  Squirt, on the other hand, is like a hyperactive child who seemingly never sleeps.  He is a pale ghostie who wanders all night long, getting into anything he can.  Whenever I open my eyes during the night, there he is with his inquiring round eyes and his pale face staring at me to see if I am getting up to do something interesting.  He follows me like a faithful dog, or cat as the case may be, everywhere I go.  He just doesn't want to miss anything.  I keep expecting him to come trotting into the room wearing a little striped shirt like one of Gorey's cat pictures.  Lately Squirt has developed a fascination for the tea bags in my daily cuppa.  I can hardly turn my back without his skilled paw dipping into my tea mug to fish out the tea bag.  How frustrating!  And of course that means that I have to dump my unfinished cup of tea, because who knows where that pale paw has been...if you get my drift.  Brewing a pot of tea seemed the answer to keeping the paw out of my teacup, but that turned out not to be the case.  This evening as I watched some television, Squirt slowly dipped his paw into the tea and began methodically licking the tea from his paw.  It dawned on me that he seemed to like it.  In the last few days I have caught him nibbling the leaves on my lemon verbena plant.  Do you suppose he likes lemon with his tea?  The tea I have been drinking does have a bit of lemon verbena in it.  Oh, great, a gourmet cat just what I need!  Will this be the cat that turns into a Koko wannabe?  Where is Lilian Jackson Braun when you need her?  Okay Qwilleran, got any advise for me?  I could use some help here.  But I just love him anyway, the same as you would love any ornery little boy who is too cute not to love in spite of his antics.  So, for now, I have to put the trash bin out on the porch, and the bread can't sit on the counter anymore.  Wet tea bags must be put into the trash immediately once the cup of tea is finished, and all bits of jewelry must go back into the jewelry box once they are removed from the day's wearing.  It would seem that things are increasingly becoming more and more like Alice's tea party around Johnson House.  Sitting around the table waiting for me to pour tea for everyone is Honey Bunny, who would no doubt like a bit of honey with his tea, Miss Lily, who would like a bit of catnip in her tea, Twinkle who would like a cookie with his tea, and of course the inevitable Squirt who takes a bit of lemon verbena with his tea. There are plenty of clean cups, so let the madness begin as the racing newcomers chase each other for their morning aerobic run.  Miss Lily just watches with disdain and a bit of hissing if they come too close, and Twinkle raises his authoritarian paw if anyone disturbs his morning nap. Most Amusing, as Twinkle has no front claws, but the two youngsters are nonetheless intimidated by him when he raises his paw.  This is all too funny to watch, and it forces me to keep my wits about me for sure.  I'm not used to finding that I have accidentally closed a cat into the bathroom, or a closet, or the back porch.  I am wondering if they will ever get me trained to their expectations.  Oh well, at least I make a good cup of tea to suit everyone...