"It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." A.Holmes

Thursday, December 11, 2008

How Cats Re-Decorate...or Un-Decorate for Christmas

~This little mouse and the little horse are part of a very large Swiss made Christmas ski toy set. I only have them and 2 little girl mice. They seem to actually be made of some type of fur, and must have been made more that 40 years ago. I cannot keep them out for viewing . I have a cat problem......~Here is THE cat problem. Doesn't she look so very peaceful , and innocent? And why not, she has been on her nightly (and daily) mission of seek out, catch,and destroy . I suppose if I did that every night I would need a long and peaceful nap to dream and ponder the next days' destruction. Here (below ) she is napping in the midst of one of my Nativity scenes. I have placed NONE of my little Nativity sheep near this creche. Miss Marple has killed too many of my little sheep. ~Just look at these sheep. The shepherd here has been unable to protect them from Miss Marple. She seizes them and takes them off to her various lairs around the house and completely and utterly destroys them!She has a real fondness for the black sheep. "In a cats' eyes ,all things belong to cats." English Proverb ~Oh no !Miss Marple has discovered my new toys. I just know she has designs on Rudolph. I don't think the Abominable Snowman can do as much damage to Rudolph as Miss Marple can.
~Oh no you don't there Miss Marple. Leave my toys alone, go kill a real mouse.
~No!!!! I said a REAL mouse...these are mice I made at least 25 years ago. I made a lot of them, I sold a lot of them, I gave a lot of them away. They are now up high on a cupboard, because they would most definitely be carried off and destroyed by Miss Marple if they were down lower where the viewing would be easier for me, or you, or the grandchildren. ~Back to these little guys. I had them high in a shelf in my craft room, and kept finding the little mouse on the floor , in the hall,all over the house. Yes, I witnessed Miss Marple jump up onto the shelf, grab him and take off with him to have her way with him.And her way is to claw, chew, kick and bat around the poor defenseless little toy. He and the horse are looking battered and now I will need to give them shelter from the cunning and destructive feline I love. " Honest as the cat when the meat is out of sight." English Proverb ~It is not only the cats who love to frolic and feast and destroy our Christmas decorations. A few years ago we had another litter of Lab puppies around for the holidays. Hubby and I went Christmas shopping and apparently did not close the back door firmly enough. We had a litter of 6 week old puppies on the back porch, with heat lamp and deep bedding to keep them warm. We came home to the devastation a litter of Lab puppies can do to a Christmas tree if left to their own devices. The picture below is cute, but what we saw was far from the image Christmas cards paint. The ornaments were all over the place, broken, chewed, wet! The carpet was littered with broken bits of the glass balls, puppy poop and vomit ( they did vomit up quite a few pieces of ornaments) and the mess of puppy play was everywhere. The puppies were genuinely surprised by my reaction. I knew that as soon as we were greeted at the front door by the happy and excited to see us puppies, that I was in for a scene I did not want to see. I remember crying at the broken ornaments. There were some very special childhood ornaments totally destroyed. But, I got over it. After seeing broken glass I was a bit afraid some of the puppies had eaten glass and was more worried by the damage ingested Christmas ornaments could have done to little , happy, puppies. The puppies were fine, my Hubby was good to me and cleaned up most of the mess. The carpet was shampooed.......the puppies (all but one who still lives here ) went to new homes. Happy ending here.
~If only it would have looked this peaceful. Only in story books and Christmas cards!~

11 comments:

LindaSue said...

Oh dear - Miss Marple is such a good hunter. Your little figures are adorable and the new Rudolph quite precious - Kathy - you may need to make an investment in some of those big glass cloches (I think that is the right term) and place the more vulnerable under glass cover - ohh - just thought - would Marple attack the glass too? Our fur faced friends give us so much - usually love and fun but sometimes -the fun is not so much. I have noticed my houseplants are healthier since my only indoor cat passed away in February! I'd give up all the plants to have him back - but what is - is what is.

Lanny said...

I love to hear stories of Miss Marple. Isn't it funny how we continually adjust our lives for the aminals in it? I know we have a lot of decorations, and doings that don't appear to be spiritual, but then again I'm not so sure they are not. If I can find spirituality in digging up a garden or tending my animals then why not in my tenderly putting out glass umbrellas that were once Dirt's grandmothers?

A. Joy said...

Oh, I'd forgotten about the time the puppies got in! I also forgot about the little skiiers and pony!!! I just showed this post to KN and told her how you'd let me 'play' with them for about 5 minutes per year if I was careful and alone so they wouldn't be ruined. I didn't know you still had them! I'm grown up now, can I play with them? I'll be careful?
I still have the mouse you made me - she lives in the little quilted bunny house with the stuffed bunnies that belong to the girls.

Flower said...

What fun to read your story of the cat play!! And, all but one puppy gone! They certainly are sweet when sleeping!!

Anonymous said...

I'm pretty sure Ditto may have called Miss Marple and given her some tips on how to un-decorate!

Anonymous said...

What fun for a cat! Miss Marple is a very lucky kitty to live in such a wonderful environment ;) How sad for all of your little critters though. You will have to sit down with her and show her the toys she can play with and the toys she can't play with - I'm sure she will understand...

Anonymous said...

Oh lab pups can destroy things like no other. I mean just one can do a number, but a whole litter...oh geez, I can only imagine the disaster. It's funny now but I'm sure the inital reaction was not so hilarious.

KathyB. said...

Linda Sue, you're right , I may need to get some big cloches, and put Miss Marple in one.....I do love her, she is interesting, spunky, friendly and a very good mouser which is why we got her. We need a mouse terminator around here.....just wish she would stick to vermin!

Lanny,yup, I am constantly re-adjusting my life to accommodate the animals. You know,( I know you do ) animals are as much a part of our lives as are so many other aspects surrounding and interacting with us. And God has used an ass, the donkey kind , to show forth His ways.....

Yes, A.Joy, you can play with my toys since I know you are able to be careful with them.

Flower, yes, they are sweet when sleeping, I have 3 grown Labs sleeping at my feet right now.

Mildred, I am not letting Miss Marple near the computer anymore, especially when I am reading your blog.....

Kenleigh Acres, I don't think Miss Marple would listen to me, she appears to consider herself entitled to whatever she sets her eyes and whiskers on.

Noble Pig, you're right about Labs and destruction. We quit buying 100% guaranteed chew proof kennels and dog houses a long time ago after the first few were demolished and the dogs slept outside the dog houses while chewing them up....

KathyB. said...

Linda Sue, you're right , I may need to get some big cloches, and put Miss Marple in one.....I do love her, she is interesting, spunky, friendly and a very good mouser which is why we got her. We need a mouse terminator around here.....just wish she would stick to vermin!

Lanny,yup, I am constantly re-adjusting my life to accommodate the animals. You know,( I know you do ) animals are as much a part of our lives as are so many other aspects surrounding and interacting with us. And God has used an ass, the donkey kind , to show forth His ways.....

Yes, A.Joy, you can play with my toys since I know you are able to be careful with them.

Flower, yes, they are sweet when sleeping, I have 3 grown Labs sleeping at my feet right now.

Mildred, I am not letting Miss Marple near the computer anymore, especially when I am reading your blog.....

Kenleigh Acres, I don't think Miss Marple would listen to me, she appears to consider herself entitled to whatever she sets her eyes and whiskers on.

Noble Pig, you're right about Labs and destruction. We quit buying 100% guaranteed chew proof kennels and dog houses a long time ago after the first few were demolished and the dogs slept outside the dog houses while chewing them up....

Connie said...

Pets can definitely cause a disturbance. Miss Marple looks so sweet and innocent sleeping there--ha ha! Having owned cats in the past though, I know that it is so true that they think everything you have in your house is put there especially for them. Love the mice that you made. You are so crafty, Kathy! :D

Anonymous said...

I laughed out loud at your description of Miss Marple's destructive ways. I have two kitties myself and have to be very careful about the placement of Christmas ornaments. I'm so very sorry to hear about the Christmas tree. Puppies are SOOOO destructive!! I would have cried too!! This was a wonderful, entertaining post. Thank you so much! By the way, I just LOVE your little sheep!