Brat – Notes from Mosquito Hill

I am alone tonight. The family is off at a horse show, and I am minding the store. There is a heat wave coming, so this evening’s chore was to install the window air conditioners.

I hate them.

The job got done, and the air is cooling in here. My last step before bed is always the Kitty Accountability Report (K.A.R.)

Tonight’s KAR was more complicated than usual. I’ve had the doors to the screen porch open, and I had multiple windows open with the screens removed. All of our cats are indoor-only, so open windows are a temptation for them and a worry for us.

Sammy and Tilly are both nuts about closets and small spaces, so it’s imperative that we make sure they are not trapped anywhere before retiring for the night. Sonnet is silent and timid, so she is usually the one most difficult to locate.

Tonight she was underfoot, along with Hal and Sammie. Chai sat in the corner eating dry food from her bowl, miffed that I had given her her evening medication. Tilly however was nowhere to be found.

She usually pops out from under the bed while I get ready. Not tonight. I knelt down and looked under with a flashlight; nope. I checked the closets without luck. I knew she had not jumped out a window while I was working. I called her name; I rattled the treat bin to no avail.

I figured she must be closed out on the porch, so I started out to look for her. Along the way I found her lounging in the bedroom window. She had her paddle paw draped over the sill in her Most Interesting Cat in the World pose, and she had been quietly watching me search for her the whole time. Little brat.