I’ve had a very exciting and frightening week so far.
Three days ago I managed to climb over the fencing that separates my house from the ruined one next door. It has a lovely central garden full of falling-down limestone walls, nettles, mice, sparrows, insects and a dead fig tree. It’s the perfect place to soak up the sun in peace and quiet and think of catching things for lunch and dinner. I fell asleep eventually as the day drifted on, and before I knew it, the sun had disappeared and the sky was dark and full of clouds.
I could hear the person I look after calling my name. She sounded a bit worried and her voice was very hoarse for some reason. I decided to ignore her as I thought I might be in trouble. She called me for about half an hour and then I heard the door on our roof slam followed by a lot of swearing. I immediately climbed up onto my roof to see what was happening, but of course, there was no-one about.
Three hours later the other person I look after came out to call me. He tried to lure me back over the fencing, but I decided to play hard to get, as it’s more fun that way. I wanted him to climb over and catch me, but he wouldn’t join in at all. I got cross and returned to my garden, even though my tummy was rumbling quite a lot.
During the night I popped over to see if they’d had the decency to leave me some food, but there was nothing, nothing at all! Did they want me to starve? I couldn’t understand it. I spent a restless night, tortured by internal rumblings and the rustlings of rodents in the undergrowth, none of which I was able to catch as I was too weak from lack of nourishment.
The following morning I admitted defeat and climbed over the fencing and down to the kitchen. Whistler, Ziggy, Max and Astral had all had their breakfasts, and my bowl was nowhere to be seen. I got very annoyed at this point and gave my people a good stiff talking to. A bowl full of tuna (for cats) was swiftly produced, and I ceased my tirade to concentrate on its delicious, fishy flavour. A bowl of biscuits followed, then a large drink of water and then, glorious, comfortable duvet.
I’m planning my next trip soon, but for some inexplicable reason, the door to the roof hasn’t been open long enough for me to get out since. “Why?” is a mystery for the Gozo Cat Detectives to solve, or maybe I can get Jools round to open it for me. Now there’s an idea, he knows all about fencing!
Not wishing my life to lack adventure, last night I explored a small paper carrier bag that’s been sitting in the hall for a while. I thought it might contain something of interest, so I stuck my head in to have a look. It was empty, and rather noisy too, so I decided to find something else to pass the time. However, to my horror, I couldn’t get my head out! It was stuck in the bag, possibly forever! Following my unerring feline instincts, I raced up the stairs to the bedroom. It wasn’t easy, as I couldn’t see where I was going, but somehow I made it without injury. The bed was full of a sleeping person who couldn’t hear my muffled cries for help, so I ran downstairs into the study, a little more cautiously this time, as you can hurt yourself falling downstairs with a bag on your head. I heard an exclamation of surprise and what sounded like laughter. Suddenly I saw electric lights and furniture and one of the people I look after staring at me in astonishment, the offending bag in his hand. He was smiling and tried to stroke me, but I hid under the sofa as I thought I might be in trouble.
This is a message to people everywhere. Don’t leave anything out at all in your homes (apart from cat food and water) if you have cats, especially things we can get stuck in. I wouldn’t worry so much about Meissen figurines or delicate Venetian glassware. We’re ever so careful with that sort of thing!
See you soon dear diary. Time for a well-earned sleep.