(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Caturday Pootie Diary: Back to normal [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-01-07 “I had to go to work,” I told him, stepping carefully around him. He stood and rubbed his body against my legs, causing me to stumble. “You don’t do that as much now,” he purred. “The routine changed.” I got free of him and walked to the kitchen to set down my things and pour a glass of juice. As I poured I said, “That was a temporary change. Just for the holidays. Things are back to normal now.” “I just got accustomed to the new schedule,” he complained, following me to the couch. He jumped up as I sat down, so our bodies hit the couch cushions at the same time. I let out a hard breath as he immediately jumped into my lap, his back paws hitting my stomach. I tightened my grip on the glass of juice, having to juggle it a little to keep from spilling. “Make yourself at home,” I said, dryly, setting down the glass. I turned on the television and flipped over to MSNBC, looking for updates on the absurd Speaker’s race in the House. My free hand absently petted the cat in my lap. He nipped me. “Hey!” I said, shaking out my abused fingers. “I need your full attention,” he said, simply, blinking up at me. “I’m sorry about the routine changes,” I said, stroking his fur. “You shouldn’t change anything ever,” he insisted, his eyes closed. “That’s not how things work for humans, unfortunately,” I pointed out. “And wasn’t the extra time together nice?” He opened his eyes. “I always want you inside the house, even if I don’t want you to talk at me or look at me.” I cocked my head, thinking about what he said. “When you need your alone time you still want me home?” “I need you here for when I want attention again. You shouldn’t leave unless you are hunting.” “I suppose you can consider the time I go to work as me out hunting,” I said, slowly. “That is how I pay for your food, after all.” He sniffed. “That’s not very efficient hunting if you are gone all day.” “These people are such clowns,” I huffed, watching the news. “Now they’re just making joke nominations.” “I fail to see what this has to do with me,” Freddie announced. I looked back down at him. “It’s human stuff. You’re lucky you don’t have to worry about it.” “I have enough to worry about with you constantly changing the routine!” I rolled my eyes. “It was two weeks! And things weren’t that different – I just had an extra day off!” “And you went out at night,” he said, tucking his front paws under his body. He seemed to be physically comfortable, but annoyed. “Wouldn’t you prefer I go somewhere else to people coming here?” He frowned. “Are people coming here?” “No.” He relaxed further, winding his tail around his body. “There shouldn’t be any more upsetting changes to the schedule until Memorial Day,” I said. “That’s months from now.” “You’ll be home more on Catorial Day?” “Memorial Day, and sort of. We might go out to someone’s house for dinner. It depends.” He bit my hand, but not too hard. “Will you stop that?” “You need to keep the routine as stable as possible,” he demanded. “I get up in the morning and get fed, then we cuddle, then I groom, then I sleep in the sunshine, then I get up for a snack and play time, then I sleep some more, then you come home from hunting and share your dinner, then we play, then you feed me, I groom some more and nap while sitting on your lap, then we go to bed.” I stared at him. “That was a mouthful,” I said. “It’s very important.” “I can see that.” “Listen. Most days will be like that. But we humans are not as reliant on routine as you. We sometimes change things up for necessity or just because we want to do something different.” “I don’t like it.” “Noted.” Happy Caturday, Peeps! Freddie and I hope everything is getting back to normal for you too. It’s always kind of a relief when the holiday decorations go back in their boxes. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/7/2145922/-Caturday-Pootie-Diary-Back-to-normal Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/