Jemma

I have cats. I like them very much. Most of the time.

Tonight I took off my earrings and laid them in this little dish that I keep on the bathroom counter for my earrings, watch and a bracelet (if I'm wearing one). Actually I bought the dish (there's probably a better word, but it's escaping me) on my first trip to Germany in 1998, when I came here to visit my highschool counselor, who was teaching here for a year on sabbatical. Anyways, shortly after I took off my earrings and placed them in the dish, I went to bed. A few minutes later, I heard a very strange sound. So I got up and turned on a few lights. As soon as she saw me coming, Jemma ran away. Hmm, not a good sign. As the sound had been coming from the bathroom, I checked there first. Nothing on the floor (good), nothing odd on the counter (good), and only one earring in the dish (bad). Checked the floor again, but couldn't find the other earring. We haven't been to the vet here yet, why not make the first trip because my cat swallowed my earring? So I go looking for my cat. She's in the living room and what's between her paws? My earring. Doesn't look worse for the wear and I'm happy to not be having our first vet visit in Germany on account of an earring being swallowed.

This is the cat who thinks that she should get some of whatever I'm eating, whenever I'm eating. This is the cat who thinks that paper is a food group (newspaper, wallpaper, notebook paper). This is the cat who thinks that toes are good for biting. This is the cat that wakes me up because she's chewing on my hair (yes, you read that correctly). This is the cat who thinks a baby sock is better than any toy I could ever buy her. This is the cat who thinks that anything left on the countertops belongs to her (hair bands, money.....). This is the cat that will only sit still to be petted for two seconds before she runs away. This is the cat who climbed out the window onto the roof. This is the cat who will close drawers if I leave them open and remove items from the medicine cabinet if I leave it open. This is the cat that had lived me for one entire year before I ever heard her purr. And this is the cat that is so stinkin' cute, she can get away with all that and more.