Cat Insectophilia

Royalty such as I should not have to face the common indignities as others. Yet, apparently it is unavoidable.

You know, of course, about my continued research in the field of entomology. I am quite the expert. I assure you. Even at my youthful age, I am more experienced than my two companions, Ninja, and Spyder. The younger is interested as a pastime. The elder couldn't be bothered.

Just the same my days and evenings, especially in these summer months revolve around observing my prey... I mean, potential specimens. We have a great variety of them in the lovely state of California along the Central Coast where my Kingdom lies.

Since my youth, before I learned of my royal position, I ran loose in the fields as an autodidacticist, learning the ways of all sorts of flying and crawling arthropods. Though I was never able to acquire much of a true collection since living outdoors gives no security for such.

Therefore when living here in my forever home with Miss E, imagine my delight in discovering I could maintain quite a large collection of dried specimens. All I had to do was wait in any window and they would come to me. For some reason they preferred the window high over the bathtub. It is a challenging leap for any cat, I'm sure and especially more-so for one of my dainty demeanor!

But, as an accomplished leaper and clever hanger-on-ner I am able to leap from the edge of the tub to the edge of the window. However there are slippery tiles there and I must catch my claws into the screen or I would miss my mark. Just the same the rewards are great and I have amassed a very large collection of dried bugs this year I have been here.

Imagine my horror when I discovered my dear Miss E hosing my stash, I mean, collection all down the drain, forever lost!!!

I am not speaking to her anymore! I am not going to lie await for her on top of her pillow anymore!

She doesn't deserve my keeping her bedsheets warm for her!

I'm not going to cuddle her anymore while she sleeps and hold her down so she doesn't float away!

Her armpit is comfy, and smells sufficiently rank, but I am not going to miss it!

You can read Miss E's posting on this in her blog HERE.

Edu-cat

We sit in the window

Bambi and I.
Ninja naps on the bed.

"Drosophila melanogaster,” she says,
“not be confused
with Tephritidae, the true fruit fly."

I stare, fascinated.
Bambi is an entomologist.

Ninja yawns,
turns over,
"A bug.. is a bug.. is a bug!"

He stretches.
"Now, dogs...
on the other paw,
...much more interesting."

Bambi flicks her ears.

"Take those yappers next door, for example.
Just scratch the screen, my boy,
and watch what happens!"

Bambi's whiskers vibrate.

"Go ahead, scratch the screen!"

I reach out...

Bambi quivers, "Spyder! Look!"

I paws.
I've never seen
such a flitter flutter before.
I can't help myself... I chirp.

"Lepidoptera!
Yes, I do believe...
Epiphyas postvittana.
First one of the season,
not good for apples, they say."

I wonder what kind
of insect is an apple.

Ninja snores.

Elizabeth Munroz
May 2010

Springtime Adventures for Spyder

Hey, you guys! I sure has sumpin intresting to tell ya. Yur nots gonna bleeve it! Now dat spring is here, lotsa fings is different. And we have lotsa new fings to know about. At least that what Ninja and Bambi say. They say, I got so many new fings to learn about life, the world an everyfing!

We was all on the bed watchin out da big sliding glass door window. Neow that weather is warmer, Miss E, she leaves it open with the big screen closed. What a greats happy cat am I! So many new smells outside and hear better all the new springtime noises, and fresh air!

Ninja teaching me names of what is all the smells. Bambi, I mean, Queen Bambi, she teaching me names all the sounds, cos she is a "Entomologist". She say that how it spelled. She knows all da bugs and insects. Boff Ninja and Bambi knows a lot about the birdies. But, I know a secret that Mockingbird told me.

I can hardly keep up with them guys. I gets so tired I falls asleep. Then I hear Bambi growl. She never growl. Almost never. Ninja, he growl all the time, but not so much anymore, since he been losing weight.

I waked up when Bambi, I mean Queen Bambi, growled. It was almost dark time neow. Right there in front of the screen was an ugliest creature we evers did see. It had a long pointy nose and pointy ears, and tiny eyes, and very fat, and sticking out hair and short legs, and worse of all, long pink tail, look almost like him bald tail. And him smell bad, too.

Bambi still growl, but quiet now. Ninja say Opossum can'ts see us, but can hear us. So, we watch him and he climbing all over stuff on the back yard. Climbing on the flower pots and turn them over upside down and then knock down the birdie feeder. Then, Ungly, he commence to eat up all the birdie food. Him a Bad Boy!

I no like Ungly. Him make a mess in backyard. Him make a mess in speshul place where my Lady Dowager Keli is sleeping. She has nice speshul place there. She say she not really sleeping there, but it complicated for me unnerstand yet. I is mad at Mr. Ugnly, cos him mess it up her speshul place and him eat up all the birdie food and neow the birdies no will come back cos they no have no more foods.

I so mad ats Mr. Ungly, I leap off bed and pound on screen door make him go away. But, him ignore me. But, him no ignore Miss E when she come in to see what all noise is about.

Miss E spray him with the bottle. That so funny. He run away. That so funny. Miss E use spray bottle to keep us inside and she use spray bottle to keep him outside.