Saturday, January 28, 2006

The Silent One Speaks

News Update: I have a new cat!!! About a month and a half ago, my husband took me kitten shopping for an early Christmas present, and I got a black and white tuxedo kitten. We named her Trinket, mostly because it fits her perfectly, but also because it goes well with our other kitty, Gizmo. Now, up until purchase of new kitten, Gizmo was a very very quiet cat. Her silent behavior, however, was replaced upon meeting with hisses, snarls, and gutteral moans. Trinket, much to the dismay and puzzlement of Gizmo, is a very vocal kitten. She mews frequently and has even accomplished the art of hum-mewing with her mouth closed. So, once Gizmo got over the initial shock of a small, furry, noisy entity dwelling in her castle, they began the bargaining phase. This entailed a daily meeting of furry minds and wills on either side of the bathroom door, directly following Gizmo's release from her nighttime prison (the office). My husband and I have different translations of their little exchanges. What actually happened went like this:

Gizmo: (trilling) Prrrow?
Trinket: Meh meh meh meh meh meh meh meeeeeeehhhhh!!!!
Gizmo: Prrrow, prrow row?
Trinket: Meh meh meh meh mehmehmehmehmehmehmehmeh mehmehmehmehmeh mmmeeeeeeeeehhhhh!!!!!!!!
Gizmo: silence with laid back ears
Trinket: Meh! Meh! Mmmeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhh!

David's translation:
Gizmo: Still there?
Trinket: Yes Yes Yes Yeeeeeessssss!!!!
Gizmo: Ok, this is how it goes- you come out, and I eat you for lunch.
Trinket: Don't eat me don't eat me don't eat me don't eat me!!!!!
Gizmo: Still listening to groveling
Trinket: Don't eat me don't eat me don't eat DDDOOONN'TT EEEEEAAAAAT MEEEEE!

My translation:

Gizmo: Friends?
Trinket: Friends, friends, I promise, friends friends!!!!!
Gizmo: Friends?
Trinket: (louder) FRIENDS, FRIENDS, I PROMISE, FRIEEEENNNDSS!
(Door opens a crack and furries spot each other)
Gizmo: NOT FRIENDS!! NOT FRIENDS!!!

So, there ya go. After the initial period of socialization, which took about 3 weeks, they have become the best of friends. They cuddle, they lick, they play, and when Trinket does something dumb to get herself into trouble, Gizmo watches then looks at us vindictively (after the Trinket is chased away from her misdeeds) as if to say, I told you that kitten was trouble, but no one ever listens to me, do they?

Ah, so on to present events. The Gizmo, who used to never say anything, now slinks around the house, occasionally doling out a bite to the ankle or Trinket's neck and moaning at times as if she's having gastrointestinal convulsions. The most intriguing of Gizmo's new sounds is when David is sitting on the commode, at which point she walks halfway down the hall, sits down, stares at him and gives one, high-pitched "Meow!" and then looks at him expectantly as if she expects him to do something interesting. Maybe she is saying "Close the door, you're polluting the air!"

I'll probably think of more things to talk about later.

2 comments:

Kar said...

You come up with the best names for cats. :) I got your email (and comment) so I will be responding in email more-o longo later. (Yeah, so we'll pretend that was normal English.) Glad to hear how things are!

:)!

Kar said...

Heh, heh. Maybe she's expecting him to perform or something.

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