My Story - Part 8

I told you about my first day, but my first night didn’t go so well. I was used to sleeping in a pile of brother and sisters, so of course I wanted to sleep with the humans who were so nice to me.

Dad had a different idea however. He took a towel and fixed it up into a comfy little bed in the bathroom near my litter box, then Dad put Me in it. But as soon as the house was dark and quite, I scampered into their bedroom and claw-climbed my way up onto their bed.

I was so glad to be there that I ran right up to walk on their heads and purr as loud as I could to let them know how happy I was. But Dad said, “No way. No Cats in the bed.” So he put Me back in the little bed they had made for Me and went back to bed. I scampered right back.

Dad got up again. This time he took my litter box down to the basement. Then he put my little kitty bed and my food and water bowls in another spot not too far from the litter box. Finally, he picked Me up, carried Me downstairs, and put Me in my bed. Then he went back upstairs and closed the basement door.

I didn’t want to be in the basement. I ran over to the stairs and tired to figure out how to climb up them, but they were too big and too steep. I started to cry. I cried and meowed and then waited. But nobody came. So I cried louder. I didn’t want to be down there! I kept on crying until finally I was so exhausted that I went to sleep in my little bed. But not before I had kept the entire family up for a very long time.

The next night Dad put Me downstairs again. This time I figured out how to jump up the stairs. But when I got to the top the door was still closed. So I starting meowing as long and as loud as I could. This time I got a response. Dad came. From the look on his face, I didn’t think things were going to go too well for Me.

He brought Me back downstairs, and took a card table to block the bottom of the stairs. Then he went back upstairs, closed the door behind him, and went back to bed.

This was simply too much. So I cried and I jumped and I tried my bestest to get over that barricade. Finally I wore myself out from trying so hard and went to bed. I was determined however, to not give up.

The next night I managed to find a spot in the barricade where I could squeeze through. As soon as I got to the top of the stairs I started meowing real loud. That brought Dad, but he only came to see how he could reinforce the barricade.

From then on, Dad and I had a contest going. Every night he would try a new arrangement for his barricade. Every morning he would find me at the top of the stairs. Of course he always knew what time of night I got there, because as soon as I scampered up the stairs to the door I let them know it!

This game went on for several weeks. Of course the bigger I got, the louder and stronger I got. Finally Dad said, “I give up.”

That night he didn’t barricade Me downstairs, and he didn’t close the basement door. After Mom and Dad went to bed, I climbed up the covers at the foot of their bed, curled up between them, and went to sleep. Dad never said a word about it and neither did I. In fact, I didn’t make a peep all night.

The next morning Dad said to Mom “Well, if we had just done that in the first place we could have been getting a good night‘s sleep all along.”

And that’s how my humans and I came to the understanding of Who is really in charge.