(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Caturday Pootie Diary: The Gift of the Freddi [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-12-02 Freddie watched as his human lifted her mug to her face and inhaled the fragrant steam. “I love coffee,” she told him, talking a long sip. “I don't know why,” he said. “It doesn’t smell very good.” “It smells great,” she said. “It smells like lazy Sunday mornings.” “I like lazy Sunday mornings,” Freddie said, looking over at his cat tree. “I like to lounge on top of the cat tree and get petted by whoever happens to be walking by. The human followed Freddie’s gaze, staring at the cat’s prized possession thoughtfully, while Freddie turned his attention to the cup in her hand. A gentle reminder of how we do things: 🐱🐶🐦 Do not troll the diary. If you hate pootie diaries, leave now. No harm, no foul. Please do share pics of your fur kids! If you have health/behavior issues with your pets, feel free to bring it to the community. Pooties are cats; Woozles are dogs. Birds... are birds! Peeps are people. Whatever happens in the outer blog STAYS in the outer blog. If you’re having “issues” with another Kossack, keep it “out there.” This is a place to relax and play; please treat it accordingly. There are some pics we never post: snakes, creepy crawlies, any and all photos that depict or encourage human cruelty toward animals. These are considered “out of bounds” and will not be tolerated. If we alert you to it, please remember that we do have phobic peeps who react strongly to them. If you keep posting banned pics...well then...the Tigress will have to take matters in hand. Or, paw. “Shoot!” the human cursed, watching her coffee maker gurgle its last. A thick, sludgy goop dripped from the top. “Shoot!” she said again. She checked the cabinet and found a single packet of instant coffee, left over from the last time her coffee maker had given up the ghost. Shaking it gleefully over her head, she walked to the stove to heat up the water. While the kettle heated, the human picked up her phone and started her search for a new coffee maker. “Thank goodness for Black Friday,” she muttered. Freddie thoughtfully clawed the carpet on his cat tree, mulling over the upcoming human holiday. “They get presents for each other,” he told his catnip fish. “They get presents for me,” he continued. “Should I get a present for her?” The catnip fish did not seen to have an answer. “I don’t have any money,” he said. “But the crows will trade for things. Should I talk to the crows?” The catnip fish seemed to think about it, but in the end was not helpful. The human scrolled through the online pet store, looking for a good gift for Freddie. “He likes treats,” she said to herself, “but he already gets those.” She looked at a few toys. “Freddie likes the toys on the end of a string or a wire,” she reminded herself. That was when she saw it. It was a feathered toy at the end of a wire that attached to a cat tree. “Oh my gosh!” she said. “That’s it!” Freddie waited a few days for his opportunity, and one Monday it finally came. The human had gone upstairs for her daily soaking in water and she had left the backdoor open. Freddie waited patiently for them to come. They always came. A single bird with shiny black feathers landed on the table near the door. The crow started to peck around, looking for dropped birdseed. “Excuse me?” Freddie called out. “Excuse me?” The bird looked over at him, tilting it’s head in curiosity. “I want to make a deal,” Freddie said. The crow hopped to the ground and waddled over to the screen door. “We like deals,” it croaked. “You have shiny things for us?” The human put the toy in her virtual cart and clicked the button to check out. That was when she saw the price. “Shoot!” she said. “That is very expensive!” And not in her budget, especially after the coffee maker replacement. She looked over at Freddie’s cat tree. “Shoot,” she said again. Freddie looked around. Nothing he owned was actually shiny. He focused back on the bird, noting that several more of the creatures had landed in various points in the backyard and were listening intently to the exchange. “Nothing shiny,” he admitted. “But plenty of cozy, soft things. Everyone likes cozy soft things.” The crow regarded him with one deep, black eye, it’s head cocked to the side. “We could be tempted with cozy things,” it said. “What is it you want?” “Something for the human,” Freddie said. “Shiny things? Humans like shiny things.” Freddie thought about it. “No, that’s not her favorite.” Christmas morning, Freddie and his human sat on the floor in front of the Christmas tree. “I got you a present,” Freddie said, excited. The human grinned. “Is it a hairball?” Freddie rolled his eyes. “It’s in the corner behind the curtain.” The human looked over and noticed the bulge in the material for the first time. “While I get that,” she said, “You should look in your stocking.” She tilted her head toward the big sock on the ground next to the fireplace. Both human and cat moved to their gifts and revealed them at the same time. “Is this coffee?” the human asked, sniffing the slightly dirty bag. “Uh-huh,” Freddie said, smelling his new toy. “It’s for your cat tree,” the human said, answering his unspoken question. Freddie froze. “The cat tree is gone,” he admitted. “Gone?” “I traded it for the coffee.” The human threw her head back and laughed, hard. “What is it?” Freddie asked. Between giggles she said, “I returned the new coffee maker so I could buy you that toy!” Her laughter was echoed by a family of crows in the driveway. “What’s that?” she wondered, standing to look out the window. Freddie joined her at the window and immediately saw it. The crows had set up the cat tree on the sidewalk and were joyfully playing on it. She laughed again. “They seem to be having a blast!” she said. The human’s face turned serious and she looked down at her cat. “You must really love me to have traded your favorite thing to the crows.” “And you gave up your morning coffee to get me a toy.” She picked Freddie up and hugged him. “Unhand me,” he squeaked. “I love you too, Freddie,” she said. Happy Caturday, Peeps! I hope your Christmas planning (if you celebrate) is going smoothly! [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/2/2209024/-Caturday-Pootie-Diary-The-Gift-of-the-Freddi?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web 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/