Everything is part of the game. The door mat has proven very, very popular, and is slowly being kicked into submission. Amazon boxes, each one an exciting opportunity. The cat tunnel. Resurrected after a year in storage, and good for chasing, sleeping, and everything in between. There are various balls in play, several tennis balls, a few small plastic balls with bells, along with the catnip toys, favorites being a red pepper and a green cucumber. The play is constant, until the faux combatants collapse into cat nap, only to rise and play again.

Kinikini spent Wednesday night in the garage. When he slipped past me at the door, I warned him. “I could forget you,” I scolded. And, although not intended, that’s exactly what happened. It wasn’t until early Thursday morning that I realized he hadn’t come out of the darkness to pester me for breakfast. That realization sent me rushing to the door. He was waiting right there, raced past me into the house, and then spent the next ten minutes seeking out special reassurances from me. We soon settled things. But cats can be stubborn, and this will not prevent him from seeking garage access whenever we go in and out of the house. I’ll try a bit harder to block his exit when it happens late in the day. My routine is to set my watch for three minutes when he bolts into the garage. Nine times out of ten, he’s anxious to get back inside after the three-minute timer goes off.

So it goes. Enjoy the cats.