The Matinee

One cold, Saturday morning, Banana watched as Gale walked, back and forth, across the backyard.  Back and forth, back and forth she went.  She appeared to be carrying things, but mostly Banana noticed the back and forth motion, and the footprints Gale was leaving in the snow.  Soon a little path was worn in the snow, and Banana began to wonder if….maybe…she could sneak out…and…skip along the head-high (for her) snow tunnel Gale had made…

All of a sudden, it made sense; Banana knew what Gale was doing, and she ran off to find Cheese.  She knew right where he was—snoozing in the sunbeam—and, because she was so excited, Banana rolled to a stop…on top of Cheese. 

“Ooooooph!” Cheese snorted.  “Get. Off.  What is wrong with you?”

“No time for chit-chat, Cheese!”  Banana huffed.  “You know those treats you have hidden in your secret place on the bookshelf in the basement?”

“What?!” Cheese exclaimed.  “How did you….Banana! I thought I hid them really well this time!”  Cheese’s whiskers twitched; he was angry and surprised.

“No time to talk about your lack of imagination now!  Hurry down and get them, then meet me back at the big window.”

“Ok,” Cheese stretched. 

Banana “helped” him along by giving him a shove.  “Get all of them!  We may be there a while!”

5.3927 minutes later, Cheese struggled up to the floor-to-ceiling window where Banana was already sitting, tail twitching behind her.  He gently dropped the bandana full of cat treats on the floor beside her. 

“Now will you tell me what’s going on?” Cheese demanded. 

Banana shushed him.  “Quiet!  The show’s about to start!”

Cheese looked around.  “Where??”

Banana slowly brought her paw to the window.  “There!  And be quiet.  And hand me a tuna one.”  Her paw slowly moved from the window to Cheese’s bag of cat treats. 

Cheese looked in the direction of Banana’s point.  

“Ooooooh…” was all he could manage.

“Squirrels...I’ve missed them so!” purred Banana.

Indeed, it was quite a show outside the window.  Gale had put fresh corn cobs on the Squirrel Wheel.  The cats watched as the squirrels spun the wheel round and round, in an effort to get kernels off of the cobs.  Cheese noticed the hungry look in Banana’s eyes, so he handed her another tuna treat. 

Gale had also filled the bird feeders.  The two cats didn’t know which way to look as the window suddenly filled with the speckled brown birds (Starlings).  As they landed, Cheese tried to count them, but they were hopping and flitting around too quickly.  “3, 4, 5…11!  Drat!”  In his frustration, Cheese hit his paw on the window.  The starlings scattered.

“Well, thanks to you, it’s Intermission!” Banana growled at Cheese, “I’ll be back in a minute….I’ve got to use the litter box.” 

When Banana returned 3.896 minutes later, it was Cheese’s turn to shush Banana.  “Slowly come up to the window, and quietly look toward the string line.” His paw inched toward the clothes line, where Gale had hung the suet cake.  Banana’s eyes grew bigger as she looked at the black and white spotted bird (Downy Woodpecker) hanging off the wire feeder. 

“I haven’t seen one of those in ages!” Banana excitedly whispered. 

As the afternoon wore on, the cats enjoyed quite a show.  They nibbled treats as they watched all the birds flying up to, and off of, the rapidly emptying feeders.  The cats couldn’t name them, but there were White-Breasted Nuthatches, Chickadees, House Finches, and House Sparrows.  Occasionally, their gaze was drawn up into the trees, where the bright red male Cardinals were resting. 

As the shadows grew longer across the yard, and the cats began to feel drowsy, Cheese reached for one last treat. 

“Hey!  What???  Banana!  Did you eat them ALL?”   His paw moved all around inside the bandana, but all that was left were the crumbs.

“Well,” Banana started to explain, but Cheese’s frantic movements had frightened the birds, and there was a flutter of feathers.  “Cheese!  Drat!  I think our show just ended!”  Banana looked sadly out the window.

“Oh, cheer up, Banana.”  Cheese pointed at some slow-moving birds under the feeder.  The pair of Mourning Doves were joined by some very fat Robins.  “There are still a few to keep you occupied while I….um…look for a new place to hide…errr…store…THESE!”  With that, Cheese jumped up and ran toward the basement, three small treats clutched firmly in his teeth.  They had been hidden under his back paw all afternoon, because, well, Cheese knew how much Banana loved treats. 

Distracted, Banana thought about following Cheese, but in the end, she turned back to the window. 

“I’m too full,” she burped.  “Besides, it’s time for the next show.”

And indeed it was “time for the next show”, as four squirrels scampered down from the back fence and up to the Wheel. 

A Ghost! A Ghost?

It was late on a rainy fall afternoon; the sun was setting, and Banana was restless.  Today was Halloween--one of Banana's favorite holidays.  She loved greeting the kids that came to the door, dressed in their funny costumes.  She loved watching Cheese as he hid under the bed, because that meant she would get all the head pats from the kids.  And she really, really loved sneaking out to the Cat Halloween party that was held after the people had gone to bed.

But it would be awhile until the excitement.  The people would not be home for at least 127 minutes, Banana had already eaten her second lunch of the day, and now she was bored.

Cheese was quietly snoring in his favorite autumn napping spot--in the corner, behind the chair.  Someone had left a blanket back there, and it was just soooo..soft...

Banana decided to roam the house, carefully inspecting the floor of each room for toys, but found only dust bunnies. 

As she turned the corner into the living room, she noticed a movement in the window.  Glancing up, she saw...a white cat peering back at her.

"Hey!" she shouted.  "Hey!"

As she looked around for something...anything...that would help her get up into the window (she couldn't quite make the jump from floor to bookcase anymore), Cheese poked his head out from behind the chair.

"What?!" he sleepily demanded.


"Look!" Banana pointed.  "That white cat...at the window...she's looking at us!  I think she wants to play!"

Cheese looked, stretched, looked again.

"What cat?  Where?"

"THERE!"  Now Banana looked toward the window.......


"That cat was there, I know she was."

"Uh huh," Cheese ducked back behind the chair and turned around so he was facing the wall.  He just knew it was going to be one of those evenings, when Banana was restless and he was not going to get a good nap.   AND, it was Halloween, which meant...shudder....visitors!

"Hmph....I did see that cat....I did...she was looking at me....." Banana muttered as she trudged toward the kitchen.  "Looking at me with one blue eye and...one green eye?"  Banana shook her head.  "No!  That's silly.  I've never seen another cat with one blue eye and one green eye."  Banana burped.  "Maybe....my lunches didn't agree with me....Maybe....the cat...wasn't real?"

Banana sat down by the food dish, thinking.  She reached down for a piece of kibble, and chewed and thought some more.

Before long, the kibble was gone and Banana was sleepy. It was dreary outside, but the porch was dry and she thought maybe the fresh air would help improve her mood.  And, there was that one chair that was a lovely napping spot...

Banana slept for 58 minutes, and when she woke up, she felt much better.  She was surprised to see that evening was settling in and the moon coming up was full and bright.

Banana wondered what she should do until the people came home.  She had already looked for her toys, which were probably hiding from her.  She had already eaten.

Maybe there was a squirrel or two out by the feeder that needed chasing?

As she looked around the yard, thinking her deep thoughts, she spotted something on the fence.  That cat!  That white cat! 

She jumped down and was ready to push through the cat door, when...
"HEY!!!!" She heard Cheese yell, "Where's all the food??  BANANA!!!!"
Cheese was so angry, he ran out onto the porch and right into Banana.

"Ooooooof!  Get off, Cheese!"  Banana pushed at Cheese.

"What's your name?"  Banana turned back to the other cat on the fence.
Banana blinked.  She blinked again.

"Who ARE you talking to?"  Cheese looked over at the fence, because that's what Banana was looking at too, and if there was a squirrel up there, he wanted to be the first out the cat door.

When Cheese looked back at Banana, he noticed she was shaking.

"I did.  I did see a cat up on that fence.  A white cat, Banana murmured.  "Not a ghost.  Not a ghost.  Not a ghost."  Banana was staring at the fence with a strange look on her face.

Cheese waived a paw in front of Banana's face.  She didn't blink.

All of a sudden, Banana jumped up and ran into the house.  When Cheese found her a few minutes later, she was covered in dust bunnies.

"A ghost.  A ghost.  I saw a ghost." Banana said, looking wildly in all directions.  "Is she here?  Inside?"

"Calm down, Banana."  Cheese stroked her head.  "Tell me exactly what you saw."

"I.  Saw.  A.  Ghost."  Banana yelled.  "She was all white. All white.  You couldn't see her.  She had one blue eye and one green eye...."

"Hmmmmm...." Cheese was listening, stroking Banana, and trying not to laugh at Banana being so scared.  "Hmmmm....a ghost...one blue eye...hmmm...and....what?  One green eye?"  Cheese couldn't help it, he started to laugh.

"Don't laugh at me!  I'm scared of that ghost!" Banana squeaked.

"Ghost?  That's no ghost!"  Cheese rolled on to his back, and tried to stop laughing long enough to explain.  "That's my friend, Peanut!  She comes to visit me.  Let's go look."  Cheese pushed Banana out from under the bed and down the hall.

Sure enough, there was Peanut, looking through the front window.
"Banana, meet Peanut.  Peanut, this is Banana."  Cheese said with one last giggle.

It Was Hot!

It was a hot day in summer.  Truth is, Banana and Cheese couldn’t remember a day it hadn’t been hot, but then, the cat’s memories were not very long.  Probably because of the heat.  Or, because they were cats…

What was I talking about?

Oh yes, the heat.

It was a hot day.  Everything…was…moving…slowly.  Cheese was moving so slowly, he had stopped moving completely, and was in the full out “nap position”.  

Banana was busy watching a bug move…slowly…across the floor of the porch.  She was hoping the bug would help her find the last crumb of the treat she had eaten last night.  She planned to be patient; when the bug finally found the piece of cheese and tuna nibble, she would pounce:   eat the crumb…and then the bug….Yes, it was a perfect plan.

But Cheese kept distracting Banana.  She thought he was asleep, but she kept hearing Cheese murmur things like:  “45…no,  52…no, 38.6….”  Cheese would stop for a while, Banana would concentrate on the bug, and then Cheese would start in again:  “72.1…no, 55.6…no, 68…”

Cheese went on and on like this, until lots of things happened at once!

The bug changed course, and started walking up Cheeses’ tail…

Banana got angry at the bug for getting distracted….

Banana reached out her front paw, to swat the bug…

Cheese exclaimed, “66.7!  Yes!”   He jumped up…

The bug, caught in a bit of flying Cheese fur, sailed away….

And Banana?  Well, Banana looked silly, pouncing on nothing. 

So she yelled at Cheese:  “Cheese!  What ARE YOU DOING?” 

But Cheese was gone!

He had run out the cat door, and was heading (quite quickly for such a hot day) toward the green plastic chair Karen and Gale had left in the yard.  

The Green Chair

Cheese leapt into the air!

Cheese landed on the chair, and swiftly scaled the chair back!

The chair tipped, and Cheese…!

Cheese landed, with a satisfied splash…in the birdbath.

“Ahhhh…,” Cheese said as he shook the water off his head, “I was right!  I knew I could take a dip in this pool!”

Banana's Teeth

Cheese woke up just in time to save himself from rolling off the comfy blue and… chair. For the 754th time, he wondered why such a lumpy-in-all-the-right-places chair was left in the basement. He was glad it was here though, because he felt safe when he snuggled down in its’ blue and brown and yellow stripiness. Nobody and nothing bothered him here, which was just the way he liked it.
But now he was wondering 2 things:
1) What caused him to need to come to his safe place, and
2) How long had he been there?

Cheese pondered these questions as first he stretched, then gave himself a good, long bath. He knew that for some reason, a good ear-cleaning seemed to lead to good answers.
He thought back, way back, to this morning? Yesterday? No, he definitely remembered having dinner last night, then having a long, quiet sleep in darkness, so it must be a new day….
He suddenly stopped licking and began shaking…he remembered why he had had to run to his safe spot! Just after the sun came up, he heard the sound—the horrible, awful, terrifying sound of what his people called “cat carrier”! The sound of that beast meant just one thing—he was going to the vet, and he hated the vet! [To be fair, he didn’t hate the vet—she was very nice and kind and gentle. No, what Cheese really hated was the cold, slippery table. And, it always smelled of dog! Yuck! And also, truth really be told, Cheese was not very adventurous outside of his own yard. “Out there” scared him a little.] As soon as Cheese heard the first teeny, tiny creak of the door of the “cat carrier”, he ran as fast as he could, down the stairs, across the basement floor, to the safety of his chair.
But wait a minute! If he was here, then who did the “cat carrier” trap inside its door?
Banana? Banana!!!!
Cheese jumped off the chair, ran across the basement floor, and up the stairs. He skidded around one corner, raced through a doorway, and slid to a stop in the biggest room in the house. No Banana. He sniffed the air. He could not smell Banana. He meowed a little as he left this room and headed to the next room…and the next…and the next. Banana was nowhere to be found.
He had an idea…he rushed to the big, glass doors, and looked into the back yard. What? No Banana there either!
Just as Cheese sat down to think some more, he heard the familiar noise from the garage that always came just before his people walked in the door. He heard a car door slam, and a teeny, tiny creaking noise…the BEAST!! That “cat carrier” was coming his way! He ran as fast as he could down the stairs…..to his safe spot.
He heard footsteps overhead, and then the “cat carrier” squeaked—he knew that sound was the opening of its’ door. It was quiet for a moment, then Cheese heard Banana’s bell, jingling.
“Cheeth….Cheeth…wheh ah oo, Cheeth?” Cheese heard something calling him—it sounded like Banana, and yet it didn’t.
“CHEETH!!” Oh yes, he could tell Banana’s yell anywhere. He crept out of the chair, slinked across the floor, then quietly padded up the stairs. He peered around the corner, just as a beam of sunlight came through the window. He squinted into the bright light, and saw….Banana’s teeth! Her mouth was open, and her TEETH sparkled in the sun!!
“Cheeth! Do oo ike mah teeh?” Banana smiled. “I uss ad em cleaned!”
Cheese had to admit, Banana’s teeth did look nice…and clean…and….bright!
“Ow,” Banana asked, “Ut’s oo eat? I’m sarvin!”

The Humming...bird

“Cheese, is that your stomach?” Banana looked disgustedly at the other cat, who was lying on his back in the sun, as sprawled out as a creature can be. It was late summer, and the cats were on the porch, soaking up as much sun as they could. They knew autumn was coming, and then winter, when the nice warm sun would be hibernating (or so it felt).

“Huh?” Cheese looked confused. “I just ate 3 minutes ago, Banana. You might be hungry again, but I’m not.” Cheese rolled over and gave the other cat his full attention. “What are you talking about?”

Banana tilted her head and listened again. “What IS that noise? It’s getting louder. Now it sounds like a buzz bug [cicada], but not really. Do you hear it? Now it sounds like Twitch when she’s happy.” Banana jumped up on the window ledge, excited to see their friend. “Hey, Twitch! Where are you?”

But Twitch was nowhere in sight.

The sound was getting louder, and Banana was getting more curious by the moment. She ran around the porch, stopping lots to look out the screens. Cheese watched her while he stretched his body from one end to the other. She didn’t know it, but he was laughing at her…on the inside. He was a smart cat, and knew how angry she could get, and how much she weighed when she pounced on him...

He let her run and wonder a little bit longer, and then he couldn’t hold the laugh in anymore. He snorted, “You really don’t know where that noise is coming from? Ha! Look up!” He pointed with his paw at a red object, hanging on the outside of the porch on the rain-runs-down thing [gutter].

Banana stopped her running, and looked toward the red object. There was something hovering there in the air, but it was moving too fast for her to get a good look at it. For 5.84 seconds, it sat on the edge of the red thing, and she could see it was a…bird!

“Cheese! I see it! Let’s go get a closer ‘look’ at it!” Banana started to drool a little, because her idea of looking was to watch the bird fly into her mouth. She could almost taste it.

“Good luck, Banana. Those birds fly faster than all the other birds in our yard [25-30 mph actually]. That’s a hummingbird, Banana. It likes the sugar water that Gale and Karen put in that red thing. That sound is the noise its’ wings make when it flies—I sat here yesterday and watched it all day!”

“Hmmmm….” Banana considered this.

“No, humming…hummingbird.” Cheese explained. “But you know the real reason hummingbirds hum, don’t you, Banana?” Cheese put his paw over his mouth, trying to hold in a laugh.

“No, why?” Banana sat down, waiting for the explanation.

“Because they don’t know the WORDS!!!” Cheese rolled over and gave in to the laugh that exploded from inside of him. It felt good.

For more information about Hummingbirds:

http://www.hummingbirds.net/about.html

Spring

Watch Out Cheese! Spring cleaning is on the way!

We're Getting There!

Words have been put on paper, sketches have been made, ideas have been presented and discussed, and we're that much closer to the dream!

I'm not sure Banana and Cheese are as excited as we are; they're completely focused on the screen door and the backyard beyond. It's good to have a goal, no matter how small.

I Am Sad

I am sad now because a friend of mine has died, from a disease called cancer. [Parents--a very good book about death is The Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst].

I am sad because I will never see her again. I will miss having lunch with her, inviting her to my house, and I will miss sending e-mails to her. I will miss her smile--she especially smiled when she was around children and cats, because she loved both.

She was a very good person; she was always doing things for other people. She did not say mean things about others. She was always willing to help me and to help others. She made me feel good about myself. I will miss her very much, and I know lots of other people will miss her, because she made them feel good too.

Because I am sad, I am crying. Not all the time, but alot. It's OK to cry when someone dies. It's also OK to smile and even laugh, because sometimes you remember silly things that other person did. What's not OK is to laugh when someone else is crying--that's a very hurtful thing to do.

When I cry because I miss my friend, Karen gives me a hug. That makes me feel better. Even when I am not crying, other people give me hugs and tell me they are sorry, because they know I miss my friend. And, when I see my other friends crying, I hug them too, because I am sorry they are feeling sad.

It also helps me to talk--to talk about how I am feeling, and to talk about my friend who has died. I especially like to tell stories about the fun things my friend and I did together. Sometimes telling those stories even makes me smile, even if I'm still crying a little.

Tomorrow will be a hard day, because there will be a Memorial Service for my friend. All of her family and friends will be there, and we will say good-bye to a very special person. We will cry, we will smile a little, we might laugh together, and we will hug each other. But most of all, we will remember all the good things about my friend.

And there were a lot of good things.

Later this spring, Karen, Banana, Cheese, and I will plant a magnolia tree, as a way to remember my friend. That will be a good thing to do, because every time we look at that tree, we will remember our friend. And, when it blooms every Spring, we will be reminded of that beautiful person who is not here any more.

Gale Charlotte Website

OK, the time has come to unveil the news! Gale is writing a children's book about Banana and Cheese!

Go to Gale's new website and read all about it!: www.galecharlotte.com

Look for the special link to some of our kitty friends.

Banana and Cheese wanna-be!

We taught her everything she knows! B&C

http://www.annarbor.com/pets/dusty-the-criminal-klepto-kitty-steals-neighborhood-belongings-and-brings-them-home/

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Valentines Day to all of our Lovely Fur Friends!

Yes, We're Still Here!

Yes, we're OK--we haven't frozen solid. We haven't been buried in snow. Banana and Cheese are not hibernating!
Banana is eating, sleeping, and eating some more. Cheese is eating, cleaning himself, and sleeping, then taking a nap after that--you know, the usual stuff.
But Gale and CD? They are very, very busy....on things that we can't tell you about just yet.
So, stay tuned.
And Twitch---get that mess cleaned up!

Lazy Twitch

“Twitch! Get to work! Clean up this mess!” Banana roared. “We need this space for our next adventure!”

“Yeah, Twitch,” Cheese agreed. “You’ve been rolling around in these holiday bits for far too long. Every day, Karen and Gale look out here and say, ‘Same old stuff. You would think the cats would have done something more exciting by now.’”

“Ok,” yawned Twitch. “I’m going, but your next adventure had better be worth it.”

“Oh, it will be,” purred Banana and Cheese…..

“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!”

Part Two, in which we discover why there are scratching posts in homes with cats….

Cheese had fallen asleep while thinking about all those human holidays of the winter, but Banana had just had a great idea and needed to share it with him. One more teensy nudge, and Banana watched as Cheese fell from the bookcase and landed with a thud on the floor.

“Grrr!!!! I’ll get you, Banana!” Cheese chased her from the room, which was just what Banana had planned all along. They needed some privacy so Banana could explain her brilliant idea to Cheese.

An hour later, they were taking turns at the scratching post.

Awww…look at the two cats! They’re being so cute together, using the scratching post…” Gale laughed at the earnest faces of Banana and Cheese. “I’m going to get the camera and take a photo—they look so serious!”

Banana and Cheese were so focused on their scratching, they didn’t notice the flashes of light. “OK,” grunted Banana. “I think that’s the last of the message to Kitty Klaws! I hope she gets our wishes in time."

“Don’t worry, Banana! We’ve sent our message with days to spare! She works magic on all those wishes!” Cheese tried to sound confident, but he was a little worried too.

“I know, but there are just so many cats in the world…maybe she won’t have time to get to our wish!” Banana sat and thought for a minute. “Maybe we should scratch it again, just in case?”

“She’s got it, I can feel it!” Cheese felt so happy, he twirled in a circle, chasing his tail, until he got dizzy and fell over.

“Did you get a photo of our silly cat?” Karen asked Gale, as they watched Cheese tumbling around on the rug.

Now, what follows has been, up until this moment, a secret to all beings except for cats, but Banana and Cheese have given me permission to tell the story…..

The story of the winter cat holiday, Felidae Whiskermas!

What, you ask, is Felidae Whiskermas?

Well, you’re familiar with what happens on the night of December 24^th? Better known as Christmas Eve? When Santa Claus pays a visit to the homes of good children? Even adults look forward to Santa’s visit (it’s true!)—they can’t wait to see what gifts he’s brought down the chimney or through the door. It’s a magical time for humans, and even grown-ups can’t really explain how Santa gets to all those houses, all over the world, in one night. AND, he brings gifts and fills stockings at each and every stop! AND, nobody ever sees Santa, even though some try and others say they hear Santa, or his reindeer, just outside….yes, all very magical indeed.

Well, there’s other magic on Christmas Eve—magic you’ve probably never even noticed. It happens in the blink of a human eye, and it’s easy for humans to miss—it’s just that quick. Just 47.3 seconds after Santa leaves, when everyone is rushing around, eager to see what gifts have been left for them, what goodies are in their stockings—that’s when the magic happens.

47.3 seconds after Santa leaves your house, your cat vanishes. Yes, all the cats, from all over the world, gather in one magical place to celebrate Felidae Whiskermas.

[Sorry, the place will remain a secret to humans; besides, humans don’t really care that much; they’re too busy with their own celebrating!]

In this magical gathering place, there are treats, games, and…catnip! But best of all, Kitty Klaws (ever wonder where Santa Claus got his name?!) comes to visit too! Kitty Klaws has spent months carefully listening to the scratches of cats from all over the world. And in this magicalplace, the wishes the cats have scratched to her come true. That is, the wishes Kitty Klaws has heard will come true, for Kitty is just like every other cat we know, and sometimes she just doesn’t listen at all. That’s why you will sometimes see your own cat, frantically clawing their scratching post; they have a great wish to send to Kitty Klaws, and they are really, really hoping she will hear it.

On this particular delightful, magical night, Banana and Cheese are having great fun with their friends: Pekeo, Earl, Kona Kitty,

Freya and Teego

The Baby, Grayce, Tiny Johnson, Felix, Rupert, Scouty, CC, Sweet Pea, Maui, May Ling, Salem, Sylvester,

The Katnip Lounge

Admiral Hestorb, Teego, Charlie, Kiki,

Tabbouleh, Joey, Orange, Vegas, Angel, Kirby, Mac, Freya, and Twitch.

Admiral Hestorb

Cheese is munching on some chicken, and Banana is chasing a little blue light around the circle.

Angel, Kirby and Mac

All at once, the cats stop what they’re doing, sniff the air, prick up their ears, and begin purring….

Kitty Klaws has arrived! Kitty moves quickly and quietly from cat to cat to cat, and then, with flick of her tail, she’s gone.

Charlie

Shortly after, the cats make their sleepy way back into the human world. While it’s just been a blink of a human eye, they’ve been celebrating for most of a cat day, and they are very, very tired.

Miss Kitty

Sometimes they’re so tired, they take extra cat naps every day until the next Felidae Whiskermas (and that explains why cats seem to sleep so much, doesn’t it?) .

On this particular Felidae Whiskermas, Banana and Cheese head back to the human world with big smiles on their faces and packages tucked under their collars. Kitty Klaws heard their wish!

The next morning, Banana meows and meows to go out. Karen opens the door, and Banana rushes out, Cheese following close behind. They run after the squirrels, sit under the bird feeders for a while, and even have a roll in the snow with Twitch. Karen and Gale watch them play for a while, and then Gale turns to Karen, a puzzled look on her face.

“Karen,” she asks, “where do you suppose Banana and Cheese got those mittens?!”

Happy Felidae Whiskermas to all our furry feline friends.

Happy holidays to all our human friends—we wish

you all the best in 2011!

“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!”

Part One, in which we learn about Human Winter Holidays….

Banana and Cheese were sitting at the patio door, watching the snow fall. Banana sighed deeply, flopped onto the floor, and put her head on her paws. “Well Cheese, that’s it. No mores squirrel-chasing for a long time!”

Cheese looked questioningly at Banana. “Why can’t we chase them? They’re right out there at the feeder, eating corn and shaking their tails this way!”

“Well, duh, Cheese—our paws will get too cold in the snow! I’ve tried to walk through the snow, and I’ve lasted about 20.6 seconds—Karen had to come out and get me because I was stranded under the picnic table!” As Banana remembered her ordeal, she shook herself, then started licking her white paws.

“Well, some animals aren’t so delicate—here comes that dog from across the street!” Cheese peered through the glass door, then looked again in surprise. “What’s that on her tail?!”

Dog-from-across-the-street walked toward the patio door, tail held high in the air. “Hey cats! Happy St Nicholas Day! Did you remember to leave a shoe out last night? I borrowed one from my person (don’t worry, it wasn’t his best-tasting one), put it outside the door, and look what was inside this morning: a tail bell!” Dog-from-across-street wagged her tail, and there was a loud jiggling sound.

“THAT. Is THE MOST frightening thing I have ever SEEN!” Cheese turned and ran.

“Ignore Cheese, Dog-from-across-the-street,” Banana explained. “He ran and hid during the loud Diwali celebration hosted by the Roys last month too. He just does not enjoy noise very

much. Candles make him nervous too, so even though Comet Cohen invited us to tonight’s Hanukkah celebration, I will have to go without him.”

But Dog was not listening anymore; “Squirrel!” she barked, and off she went.

Banana sighed and settled down for another long winter nap….

One week later, Banana and Cheese, still sleepy from the night before, when they celebrated the Festival of the Virgin of Guadalupe with Blythey Soto and her people, were stretched out on a heat vent. They took turns wandering from window to window and wishing they could be outside. But there was still snow everywhere, and even though each cat tried, they couldn’t last more than 20.6 seconds outside—their paws just got too cold.

“Cheeeeeeese! Think!” Banana whined. “There’s got to be something we can do to get outside! Maybe we could ask Karen and Gale to build us a….” Before she could finish her thought, Banana heard the doorbell. Cheese had started running for the basement, but Banana ran to look out the window to see what friend was coming to visit.

“Cheese! Stop! It’s just Lucy Carlson and her people. Ooooo….wow….” Banana stopped talking as Lucy walked in, wearing a bright red sash.

“Do you like it?” Lucy asked. “Today is St. Lucia Day, and all the young girls in our family get to wear these this morning. It’s so soft and makes me feel so pretty…” her voice trailed off as she stroked the sash for the 22^nd time that morning. “But enough chit chat! Have you two scratched your message to Kitty Klaus yet?” Before Banana or Cheese could answer, Karen called them into the kitchen so they could try the tasty Swedish cat treats Lucy brought to share. Yum! There was plenty of fishballs for all!

Another week passed; it was a busy week of birthdays—first Erika’s birthday, and then Peter’s birthday. The cats were thrilled with the smunchy wrapping paper and the licks of ice cream they stole from dishes when nobody was looking.

On this day, the whole family had gathered in the living room. They were napping, reading, wrapping gifts, batting at decorations on the Christmas tree, chasing balls of ribbon, but in the midst of all the activity, Banana was doing what she had been doing for weeks now—staring outside, wishing she could find some way to be playing in the snow and visiting her birds at the feeders.

Cheese, who as taking a break from decoration destruction, was startled when Twitch jumped up on the ledge on the other side of the window.

“Hey!! Cheese!! Happy Solstice!!” Twitch looked so happy, but Cheese just looked….puzzled.

“What is Solstice, Twitch?” Cheese made himself comfortable, for he knew this would probably be one of Twitches’ long stories.

“Well,” Twitch began, “Solstice is a holiday some humans celebrate—for them, it’s a time to celebrate the Return of the Sun. And, as all outdoor cats know, tonight will be the longest night of the year, BUT beginning tomorrow, each day will be a little longer…and warmer!’ Twitch purred in happy anticipation. “Evergreen Marsh has invited me to his humans’ bonfire tonight…he says they will be burning a Yule log. There will be food and heat! Want to come?”

“Ohhh….no thank you,” Cheese shivered at the thought of all that fire. “Banana and I have….um…we’re….uh…scratching our wishes to Kitty Klaws tonight! Yeah! That’s what we’re doing—scratching our wishes…” Cheese was relieved he had thought of something to do, so he wouldn’t have to tell Twitch that he was really afraid of the fire. Besides, they really did need to figure out what to say to Kitty Klaws.

“Well, suit yourself,” Twitch shrugged. “I plan to be warm tonight, and then tomorrow, it will stay light a little longer, and before we know it, Spring will be here and there will be lots of little ones running through your back yard! Yes indeed, this is a very important night for all wild animals like me. Well, see you in a few days—I can’t wait to see Kitty Klaws either!” With a happy flick of her tail, Twitch was gone.

Cheese sat at the window a little longer, thinking about all the human holidays that were celebrated this time of the year—there had been so many already, and Cheese knew of even more holidays to come: Christmas, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve, Chinese New Year. Each holiday was special to some group of humans, and the humans had unique traditions for each holiday. But no matter what holiday the humans celebrated, they were convinced their cats should be included, because of course cats did not have any holidays of their own, and would probably be sad this time of the year if they weren’t included in whatever the humans were doing.

But! They…would…be…WRONG!

Christmas Party!

To all the kitties out there! Our Halloween Party story was such a success that we have decided to throw a Christmas Party story.

If you plan on coming, please RSVP by Saturday, December 19th!

Pass it on!

Banana and Cheese

Thanksgiving

It was the 4^th Thursday in November; one of Banana’s favorite days in the whole year, because Thanksgiving Day was a time for feasting and people and feasting and friends. Oh, the food! Banana had watched with great anticipation as Gale put the biggest bird Banana had ever seen into the oven just 2.5 hours before. Banana had sat right by the oven for a long time, until Karen spotted her and shooed her away, saying, “It will be HOURS before the turkey is done!” Reluctantly, Banana left her viewing station, and went to find Cheese.

Cheese was sitting in front of the television, watching as shapes seemed to float by on the screen.

“Wow! What’s that?”

Banana pointed to a humongous orange cat hovering inside the big black box.

“Gale says it’s a helium balloon, Banana. I don’t know what that is, but look at how small the people are, compared to that cat! Hmmm….” Cheese peered more closely at the screen. “That cat reminds me of you, after you’ve eaten your bowl of food AND mine!”

“Hrumph!” Banana turned and left the room. She called back, over her shoulder, to a still-laughing Cheese. “I’m going to take a nap…in front of the stove. That way, I’ll get the first bite of bird!”

Cheese was torn; he wanted to watch some more of those “balloons”, but he also wanted some of that turkey. As he rocked back and forth, trying to decide, he heard a familiar rumble in the distance. Banana heard it too, and she came running back into the living room.

“CD!!!” The cats pawed at the front door, each trying to be the first to greet their friend.

“Hey cats!” CD fairly burst through the front door, she was so excited to see Banana and Cheese. “Look what I brought for you!” CD held up two little, teeny, tiny…Native American and…Pilgrim costumes?! Banana and Cheese sniffed, then started backing away. “Oh, c’mon…you two will look great in these!” CD used her most convincing voice. “Just try them on. Then, I’ll draw your pictures. Pleaaaase?”

How could the cats refuse CD? They put on the pilgrim hat and the beads and the coats and had to admit—they DID look good!

Later in the day, as Banana and Cheese joined the rest of their family…Karen, Gale, Erika, Peter, and Joey…and many people friends…for a wonderful Thanksgiving feast, CD captured it all. Banana didn’t even notice; the turkey was just too…yummy.

As each being sat back, feeling very full and very blessed, there was a loud crash in the kitchen. Banana and Cheese were first to reach the scene, and found Twitch…covered in what was left of the pumpkin pie! “I…well…the back door was open, and well…I slipped,” Twitch sheepishly admitted. She raised her paw, to start the long cleaning process. “Hey! This not-tuna is pretty good!”

We wish all of our friends and family, near and far, a very Happy Thanksgiving…we are very thankful for each and every one of you!