The Amazon box arrived unceremoniously as they usually did. The peeling of tape, the unboxing of a case of canned cat food, followed by a second case. Nothing out of the ordinary. Yet. Until…something gray and furry was pulled from the box. At first, this new item went completely unnoticed by the resident hairballs, lounging on the cat tree. They knew what to expect. Once the box was emptied, it would be placed on the floor and they could explore their new hiding place, attack each other at will, defending Fort Feline from all intruders (and each other), at least for a couple of weeks until they tired of it, then it would be flattened and recycled like so many others.
The new item was different. It was dangerous, at least from the cat’s point of view. It meant a new addition to the household that could not…WOULD not…be tolerated! An audible sigh of comfort first caught the attention of Mittens McGrowly, the Land Shark. She lifted her calico head and turned toward the kitchen, sensing immediately that something was amiss. Something was different. Something foul and unnatural was afoot! Cautiously she arose and slinked forward, keeping low to the ground. She peered around the corner and caught sight of them…gray…furry…NEW…INTRUDERS. A low growl escaped her and she ducked back behind the counter. WHAT were those? The commotion caught the attention of Nipsy Fluffle, the House Panther. He jumped down from the cat tree and sauntered confidently past McGrowly into the kitchen looking for a treat. He saw them and stopped. His whiskers twitched as he sniffed the air. Hmm. Nothing too bad. He moved forward and sniffed them directly, his sleek black fur catching the light and shining like a glossy photo at a glamor shoot. One sniff, two sniffs, three sniffs. Nope. No big deal. Where are the treats?
Mittens McGrowly watched him in alarm. How could he just walk up to them?!?! Good heavens! They’re not NATURAL! She started to follow Nipsy out of hiding, but then they MOVED! She growled again and ducked back behind the counter. This was the end of Nipsy, she just KNEW it! Wait…was he eating? She started out, again, and again they MOVED! Back behind the counter with yet another growl. Someone, or something NEW had taken over the kitchen! This was not to be tolerated. Mittens yowled pitifully for Nipsy’s loss. Suddenly, Nipsy sauntered around behind the counter past Mittens, back to his cozy spot near the window, licking his lips. HE WAS OKAY! But the intruders were still in the kitchen! Mittens growled, again, warning them to leave!
Mittens was at a loss! On the one paw, she wanted to flee and hide until the intruders left. On the other paw, her food servant was in the kitchen, clearly under their evil spell! (On the third paw, she really wanted some treats, too, but how was she to get to them with the intruders in the kitchen?) How was she and Nipsy going to eat if the food servant was hypnotized under the spell of the intruders and couldn’t feed them? What to do? What to do? Mittens retreated under the comfort blanket on the couch to ponder her next move, her empty stomach grumbling for a treat, making it hard to concentrate. She couldn’t believe Nipsy’s nonchalance at the whole affair! Maybe HE was ready to starve to death, but she sure wasn’t! Well, okay, he did get treats so she’d starve before he did…. Obviously, it was up to her as head guard cat to save the day!
Mittens could hear her food servant calling from the kitchen. Reluctantly, she abandoned her hiding place under the comfort blanket on the couch and crept up behind the counter, again. Peering around the corner with one ear and one eye, her food servant saw her.
“There you are! Come get some treats, silly girl!” she held out her hand with the treats in them. The tantalizing smell wafting to Mittens to tease her senses with their heady aromas, mesmerizing the hungry Mittens into complacency. As she stepped out from behind the counter, she remembered herself, shook her head, and ducked back to safety. That was CLOSE!
“Silly girl! Are you afraid of the slippers? They’re not going to hurt you! Come see!” The food servant lightly tapped the intruders nestled cozily around her feet, who didn’t move. Cautiously, Mittens moved forward, again, driven by hunger. Step by anxious step she moved closer. Two steps forward and one step back, but the intruders never moved. Surely, this was a ploy to bait her into getting close before they strike so Mittens had to keep on her toes, claws at the ready. Warily, Mittens came near, stretching her neck out she gave a cursory sniff, then backed away. No movement. Again, she moved forward and took a deeper whiff. Strange, yes, But inherently dangerous? Maybe not.
Trust was not yet earned, however. A couple of bites of treats and another sniff. The food servant reached down for a reassuring scritch behind the ears. Not fair! She knows how ear scritches make Mittens melt! A few more scritches and treats and Mittens decided the intruders were tolerable, provided they didn’t move about the house! Once they moved, Mittens could swear someone else was in the home, growled a warning, and ran to hide again. It would take time for her to warm up to the fuzzy slippers like Nipsy so easily had. But neither Mittens nor the slippers were going anywhere.
Mittens McGrowly would soon come to know that even though there were now a pair of slippers in the house, neither she nor Nipsy Fluffle would be going hungry over them, and the slippers didn’t have nefarious plans to overthrow the food servant and toss the hairballs back out onto the street. And very quickly, the home would once again settle into a peaceful truce between Mittens McGrowly and the Killer House Slippers.