Junior's Jungle Gym

In this episode - Juniors' Jungle Gym . . .

Does a cat own you? Then I'm sure you know what it's like to be a Jungle Gym. You Don't? Well, allow me to explain.

It begins early each morning (usually 4:30 a.m.) Whomp, you hear the cat, Junior, jump onto the bed. He climbs onto your chest and sticks his nose directly to mine. A friendly face greets me with two large, bright, golden-greenish eyes, white whiskers, and what appears to be a smiling face.

Meow, translation - ”Time to get up.”

"Good morning Junior. (Jr.) Ok, ok, I'm getting up.”

Stretching, you make your way to the bathroom, have a seat, then Whomp, Jr. leaps from the floor to your shoulders and starts his motor purring in your ear.

"What's up, Jr.? Where's Missy.”

Both Junior and his sister Missy spend their days lounging around the house, mainly sleeping. They are decidedly indoor cats. Over the years, we've lost too many cats to varmints that populate the open space behind our house. Jr. and Missy were four months old when we adopted them from the shelter. Thank goodness they are content to wander the house and sit on the windowsills to watch the world go by.

So, you make your way downstairs to prepare the morning coffee to start the day. And there's Jr. seated in the corner watching your every move - waiting!

Once the coffee is ready, you grab your cup and head back upstairs to the computer in your office. It's quiet, you're going through emails - then Whomp, Jr. pounces into your lap and starts squirming back and forth. His tail slaps the keyboard, and all kinds of commands appear on your screen. Not content to sit in your lap, he climbs back on your shoulders to get a better view of what's going on.

About this time, Lori gets up, grabs her morning coffee, and heads for the couch - Ah-Ha, another lap. Jr. scampers downstairs to claim yet another lap. Where's Missy this entire time, you ask? She is casually sitting on the footstool in front of the sofa, just watching this go by.

Now it's breakfast; he follows you to the kitchen, then Whomp jumps on the table. Cautiously he has to make sure nothing has changed, sniffing everything, including your breakfast. Trying desperately to get a lap, he climbs back to your shoulders, not deterred.

"Ok, Jr., time for work.”

So, Jr. yawns jumps down from the table, and retires to his daytime snooze spot. Meanwhile, Missy casually raises her head and watches all this go by . . .

It's early evening; the garage door opens, and as we walk through the door, there's Junior to greet us - stretching - waking up from his all-day snooze, ready to resume his acrobatics.

With a rather demanding - Meow, he runs to his chair (my recliner) in the TV room, leaps to the back, and turns to look at me as if to say; it's about time you got home; come sit down and make me a lap, I want to stretch out.

Perfectly content, he lounges as you scratch behind his ear, purring happily for about five minutes. Then, immediately, he's up, leaps to the footstool in front of Lori's chair assumes his most regal pose, and stares directly at her.

"Ok, with a tilt of his head, as if to say, you've been home at least fifteen minutes. Where's my supper?”

Lori goes to the kitchen, picks up their bowls, and tout de suit Missy comes to life. She starts meowing and walking in circles while Junior sits patiently waiting for his supper. After supper, Missy returns to her spot, circles a few times then settles in for the evening.

Now ready for action, the jungle cat decides its time to check out the garage, makes his rounds, then, with a burst of blinding speed, circumnavigates the living room, jumping from one chair to another, over the top of Lori, then - Whomp pounces on to my lap. Not content, he jumps from lap to lap throughout the evening.

"Ok, Jr., time for bed.”

He immediately claims my warm chair and allows me to get ready for bed; I'm tucked in for the night, then I hear the bedroom door open - Whomp, it's back to my chest until he realizes I'm going to sleep. So, it's back downstairs to claim Lori's lap once more before she turns in for the night.

There you have it, a day in the life as Juniors Jungle Gym.

I’m Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. I'll see you in the next episode.

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