Thursday, August 11, 2011

Attack of the ..Plastic Monster?

Leo is a big goofy baby who loves to play. He loves him some toys! Poor fella, with all the work going on around here, a big plastic drop cloth kind of landed on the temporary toy pile and we didn’t notice.. Bad humans. He wasn’t horribly concerned, after all, he can make a toy out of just about anything. He did start doing a funny, silly thing though. He started jumping on and digging at the plastic drop cloth.

It took me a while, bad human again, to realize that he KNEW his toys were under there and he was trying to figure out how to get at them! Greg moved things around and dug out some of his more favorite toys, poor little Leo. So he was happy again.

Before I tell what Star thinks is the really funny story, I’ll preface it with what happened the night before. I was getting a package ready to mail and so opened a new roll of packing tape. There’s always a non-sticky part so you can find the end of the tape. I cut that off and stuck it on the Royal Footstool, which I was using as work surface, just until I was done.

Leo thought he had to snoopervise, or else he was just looking to see if there was anything play-worthy, so he jumped up. And promptly stepped on the end of the tape. It stuck. He flipped out, glanced at it for a second but before I could reach him and pull it off, he jumped down and ran across the room. He tried biting at it and shaking it off, but it was stuck to all his toe floof!

I wasn’t much help, laughing as much as I was. But it was too funny, he’d run, stop, and try to shake it off, then run, stop, and try to shake it off, over and over. Greg tried getting him, but Leo was not having any of that, and ran again. Greg didn’t want to chase him and make him more panicked. Finally, Leo came to a stop in front of the door where he tried the shake it off method again. When that didn’t work, he gave it the bite treatment. That worked! He dropped it and took off, looking all affronted at the unwarranted attack on his paw by that clingy thingie.

My nephew’s fiancé had posted on facebook for her status "What moves faster than a speeding bullet? A cat with her head stuck in the handle of a plastic bag." I had to think, a cat with tape stuck on his paw is pretty quick too!

And then the next day...

Let’s just say that while we’re ‘under construction’ around here, things are none too neat. Not that I’m ever a clean freak.. But still, there’s stuff around everywhere. Leo was walking around the room, probably looking for trouble because he had that goofy "where’s muh toys!" look on his face, when he stepped on a plastic grocery type bag.

It made that irresistible crinkly sound! He stopped in his tracks and looked at it. Then he started batting at it. He discovered that doing a sort of modified dive/leap onto it, he could land and make some really good crinkly sounds as it slid forward a few inches. He had the bag full opened and was laying sort of in it though it was flat on the floor.

His tail was twitching wildly, back and forth. Suddenly, he looked over his shoulder, eyes wide. His tail had been flipping a stray tissue (he steals them and scatters them around the house, silly cat, he doesn’t even sneeze!). He jumped up to spin around and pounce the wild tissue, but when he did, the bag crinkled again, so he turned again. He stood there, looking back and forth between tissue and bag trying to decide which one to pounce. The bag won out and he dived into it again.

I was searching for the camera when.... (cue dramatic da Da DA music) the bag attacked back! Somehow, and ironically, he got his head stuck through the handle of the plastic bag! He completely flipped out, spun in place for a moment then before anyone could move, he took off running.

He ran past the Royal Footstool, up on the landing, down the other side, through the dining room, to the kitchen, down the hall to the living room, back past the Royal Footstool, up on the landing... Well, you get the idea, he went round twice, and I couldn’t catch him. He wouldn’t come when I called, he just ran. He must have gotten tired of going all the way to the kitchen, because next time past he detoured at the landing and went behind the couch instead, then out the other side, past the Royal Footstool, back behind the couch... Yes, again and again. Out of my reach and faster than I could catch.

I was starting to fear he’d have a heart attack! So I shoved the Royal Footstool into his path, making his only way through the room between it and me. When he went past, AH HA! I got him! I did not pick him up for fear of his mighty claws (needs a trim again, yikes) but I stopped him and pulled the bag off. By that time it was down over his shoulders and I have no idea how he was still running so fast with it there!

As soon as the bag was off, he crouched low and scuttled under the Royal Footstool to hide and catch his breath. Poor baby.

Star had been sitting on the couch arm, disdainfully watching Leo play with that plastic bag. When he started running the circuit, she jumped down and hissed at him every time he passed her as she sat by the end of the couch. She was clearly freaked out by what he was doing. Once he’d been released and crawled under the Royal Footstool, she decided to investigate.

She crept to within a foot of the Royal Footstool, crouched down and peered under at him. Then she told him off with a few hisses and grumbles. I imagine she was saying something along the lines of "What’s the matter with you, you crazy whippersnapper! You have utterly disturbed my day with your harebrained antics! I’m going to go sulk now and it’s All. Your. Fault." Then she left in a huff.

Leo stayed under there for a good fifteen minutes, his twitchy nose peeping out occasionally as if he were looking to see where the attacker went. He did finally come out and after making sure the coast was clear, climbed up to my neck for a snuggle and a nap. Plum wore out, poor little sweetie.



I didn't like that much.. Can we get rid of all of those from the house?


Can we get rid of all the lunitics from the house...

Sorry both of you.. Bags are a part of life, and Leo isn't going anywhere. I wuv him too much!

2 comments:

Random Felines said...

MOL - that is great!! (ok, maybe not for Leo - but hey....) Mom says that one of us gots our head stuck in the handle of a paper bag once and that was good too, but we deny anything of the sort!

Anonymous said...

lol Andrea i love that post

*Tabby*