Like most cats, I used to fear the vacuum cleaner. I admit, I once fell for all the usual cat superstitions: The vacuum is a demon, that it sucks up souls, that it collects cat hair to build an army of mind-controlled clone cats under the command of Lord Electrolux.
But then I used Science. Thanks to thoughtful questioning and study, I was able to understand the vacuum and gain mastery of it. For example, did you know that a vacuum can be disabled by removing the drive belt from the main beater bar assembly? Because clearly Mom hasn’t figured that out yet. She needs Science.
My parents have a central vacuum system, and Stars is (of course) afraid of the noise, so she will not stay in the room you are vacuuming, nor will she be in the living room, because the canister is in the garage on the other side of the wall, so regardless of where you are vacuuming, you can hear it in there. It also means an extra long hose, which sometimes gets temporarily left in a coil on the living room floor. When this happens, and it is not actually running, she will sit in the middle of it like she killed a giant snake. She seems quite proud of her bravery, then.
She should be. You guys would be so ded if not for her bravery.
Oh, I know.
Part of the vacuum system includes an opening under a cabinet in the kitchen that has a kick-switch that turns it on and then you can just sweep stuff right into it. When she was a few months old she was playing with a pea that we gave her from the dinner table and she knocked it into the vacuum opening and couldn’t reach it. We watched her flail for a little bit before taking pity and getting it out for her because it was just so adorable. I was half wondering what she would do if she managed to turn the vacuum on (it takes some force to flip the switch so it was unlikely since she was so tiny).
(I also couldn’t reach the pea, actually, so I used a bendy straw…which then became their new favorite toy. We kept finding them in the hall closets because they would lose them under the doors.)
We need visual proof of her gloating amidst the coils of her kill
I’ll have to ask my parents if they have any.
No pics of Stars and the Giant Snake but here is Stripes getting ready to pounce on the carpet cleaner.
Dear Stripes.
🙁
Love how they’re winning the staring contest with that monster.
I’m not even going to try to get that back!
This is genius Mike!
Cat: beautiful.
Picture: very nice.
Intro: five-star h i l a r i o u s !
Awww.
Face like Sabrina, the seal point we had when I was growing up. Still the smartest, prettiest cat i’ve ever met.
Sabrina is really great name for a cat.
That’s what I was thinking. 🙂
Duckie is vaguely disturbed by the fact that she started singing “Jingle Bell Rock” while attempting to do housework. Especially since she barely has enough breath to DO housework!
Hubby’s second interview this afternoon.
Wish him luck from the gang at Cutetropolis!
Odd songs pop into my head all the time – maybe that has to do with my only knowing odd songs!?
Duckie! Good luck to hubby. And you.
Again, how does Mike come up with such creative stories – I look forward to them. Often, the laughs are just what I needed. That’s the main reason I love this site. The animals pics are great but even better with Mike’s interpretation.
Don’t tell my cats this secret! Of course, I rarely vacuum anyway. This is why the army of clone cats rises just from the tumblefur on my floor.
That cat is a knockout.
That is one of the most perfect cat loafs (loaves?) I’ve ever seen! What a cutie!
The one ring that rules them all, seems more like magic to me.
It’s part of that evil curse.
It is kinda crazy how much cats love their milk rings! It’s like the best cat toy ever. Every single cat I’ve known has taken to them.