cat burglar

Rest in Peace

2008-03-03T07:24:00.000-08:00

Last night Simon was hit by a car. We found him shortly after, his little body still warm. To say that we are heartbroken would be an understatement.
He was one of the most exceptionally sweet creatures I have ever known. He had a way of reaching into your heart and making you laugh. He was a special little guy who let me know long ago that he was put on this earth to spread smiles.
A few years ago I was living in a duplex above Simon with my 15-year-old cat whom I adored. Simon and I never paid that much attention to one another, I'd say hello as I passed him, he'd stare at me blankly, and that would be that.
Then one day my cat passed away. After a few days of sitting on my couch crying I looked up and saw Simon staring at me from my doorstep. He stayed there for two weeks. Every evening when I came home from work, every morning when I opened my door, every night when I locked up to go to bed, the little guy was there. It was as if he was keeping vigil on that door mat, letting me know that everything was going to be alright and that he was there when I was ready for him. That first week he sat in silence, the second week he started bringing me gifts. A bag of tire gauges, part of a sack that had housed cement and, of course, gloves. It didn't take long before he'd worked his way into my heart and, eventually, so did his owner.
We all moved, along with my other half's dog and second cat, into a little house and created a home together. And although Simon was only eight pounds of fur and furry his presence filled this home and spilled over through out the neighborhood. Everyone who knew him loved him, and in the same way that he brought me smiles through that door screen years ago he would do the same with all the visitors who came knocking.
Simon's greatest gifts weren't the panties, rags or stuffed animals he brought home, the most wonderful gift Simon gave was the happiness he spread. He was unlike any other animal I've known.
This morning the skies are stormy and the rain is coming down in buckets. Pretty appropriate, but no match for the waterworks going on inside my house. Even our dog, who Simon slept with every night on the dog bed, is hanging his head low this morning. And late last night I found him lying on our guest bed, where he is prohibited from sleeping, in between the pillows right where Simon had napped most of yesterday. He never went back to the bed he shared with Simon.
The last time I saw Simon, just and hour before we found him, he and the dog were standing outside together, noses held high, feeling the wind blowing hard as the storm clouds began to roll in. Then Simon took off, tearing across the yard, stopping to roll in some dirt, then running on to his last adventure.

This is his last present, brought in a few nights ago. A suede pot holder.
Thank you all who have followed Simon and his antics through this blog. I'm so happy that I could share part of him with you. And if you've ever looked at this site and smiled and felt a little lighter after reading about his exploits go out and do something today in Simon's memory. Give money to your local animal shelter, adopt and old dog or cat that needs a good home, make someone smile who needs it, or just go out and steal a pair of panties.

Goodspeed our little guy. Our little thief. You will so be missed.

five-finger discounts

2008-02-27T08:51:00.000-08:00

Well, it's not that Simon hasn't been busy, look at my dining room floor at the moment and you'd be convinced a glove factory exploded, it's just that he apparently hasn't left the boundaries of our yard in weeks. Instead of finding new things to add to our collection he keeps recycling gloves from his box in the garage. One glove I've seen make it's way through the cat door four times. Some gloves are so commonly deposited in the house that even the dog, who will eat poop if given the chance but steers clear of any of Simon's steals, has begun to grab them and present them as greetings when I walk through the door. I guess familiarity has it's good points?
So, I'm not posting any photos because you've seen it all before. Maybe he'll get over his glove fetish soon ... fingers crossed.

the construction issue

2008-02-18T16:37:00.000-08:00

A neighbor is remodeling their house and apparently this is delighting Simon. In addition to taking all the worker's gloves he is making his way through some other items as well.

It's not just a glove. It's a metal roofing art piece!

Home Depot bag.

Contents of Home Depot bag.
However, I learned that there had been four bolts and nuts inside waiting to attach a new mailbox to it's post. I'm assuming Simon didn't want them because he made a path down the street with the items. Where he picked up the leaves I'm not so sure about.

When will people learn to put these things away?

fabric graveyard

2008-02-07T21:23:00.001-08:00

Rag retrieval should be an olympic sport, then I could at least say that Simon's in training. This is what I woke up to this morning. After heeding the little guy's call four times and responding with a 'good boy' salutation and some chin scratches to first a black t-shirt, then a rag with paint, then another rag carrying mainly dirt, then yet another rag washed in a different paint shade, I decided it was time to stop the positive reinforcement. But he just went back out again and found a rag so old that it crunched when I bent it. Good stuff. It did make quite a beautiful pile though. Like a rag pile of love. He means so well.

the things he loves

2008-02-06T21:18:00.001-08:00

We now officially own every glove in a two-block radius of our home. Simon's mission is complete.

Matching pink rags. How sweet, and so close to Valentine's day ... what a treat.

The real gift though was the dirt left where he dropped off the rags.

And, as I write this, Simon has already brought in a fresh t-shirt, two more dirt-filled rags and I just heard him hit the cat door on his way back out. I'm not sure what I did that made him so happy but it may have something to do with trout. Glad to know he can be bought so easily.

shirt off your back

2008-02-05T12:55:00.000-08:00

I'm going to put a bug in Simon's ear for some designer duds. He seems to be a fan of the 'I can paint in this' type of clothing, but I think it's time for him to reach for a higher star. Or at least bring home stuff that isn't caked in bodily fluids.

welcome home

2008-01-29T21:35:00.000-08:00

There's nothing like the feeling of being missed, is there? Now imagine how good it feels for your 8lb furball of a thieving cat to miss you. Yup, it's just that sweet. This past weekend I went out of town for work and when I returned home Simon jumped on my lap, made some biscuits, gave a little purr then hit the cat door for some stealin'. Man, it feels good to be loved...

I think the gloves are really secondary here. The 'gift' is actually 500 grass spurs - they just needed a carrier. My favorite part of this pair is that they are two different sizes. And Simon brought them both in at once. Little guy didn't want to expend too much energy.
Oh, and this was one of two pairs he nabbed in 30 minutes, the other pair was given back to it's owner - who came knocking at our door - before I could photograph them.

Yes, it's dirty rag #500! It's the thought, right?

What you can't tell from this photo is that the moist towelette is still moist. Wet, really. How nastastic is that?! (nastastic is my new word to describe many of Simon's gifts. Nasty+fantastic=nastastic!)

I've often wondered whether my neighbors have seen Simon dragging things down the street. It just seems like someone has to have seen something, and yesterday I got my answer. Yes, they have. And yes, they thought WTF?! My neighbor, Grant, was over (picking up his gloves of course) and he told me that one day he looked out of his front window to see Simon dragging a sheet across another neighbor's front yard. Really, are there words to describe how brilliant that is?! No. Sadly the sheet never made it into our house. Grant remarked that Simon tried to pull it through some bushes and it got stuck. And how cool is Grant ... he said he thought 'man, maybe i should give Simon a hand'. Love him.

In other news from the thieving cat world, my friend Courtney sent me this:
( and all I have to say is thieving crime fighting kitties = 1, perves = 0)

Curious cat finds child porn stash, leading to man's arrest

Associated Press

AUSTIN < A cat snooping around its new apartment found a
hiding place where the previous resident hid a stash of
child pornography, police said.  The woman who owns
the cat noticed it could stick its head in a gap
between the pantry and ceiling, then a friend reached
into the gap and found DVDs containing child pornography,
according to an arrest warrant.  The woman took the DVDs
to the apartment office and police tracked them to Luis
Jimenez, who had moved out of the apartment last year. 
Jimenez, 24, has been charged with possession of child
pornography and was being held on $40,000 bail.
Possession of child pornography is a third-degree
felony punishable  by up to 10 years in jail and a
fine up to $10,000. There was no attorney listed in
Jimenez's jail file Friday.

prepared

2008-01-21T21:50:00.000-08:00

I was talking with a friend last night who I hadn't spoken with in awhile and she asked me "So, what have you been up to lately, I see that Simon hasn't been doing much...", and then she preceded to give me her theory as to why Simon has been laying low. The argument pretty much hinging on a combination of cold and rain. I agreed then noted, with my inside voice, that she never really waited for me to answer any questions about myself, and that's when it occurred to me that my cat has apparently become far more interesting then me.
I guess I need to get out more.
So nope, the little guy hasn't been too busy lately, preferring the soft comfort of my dog's bed to casing the neighborhood for gifts. He did bring home a glove and rag the other day but ... well ... we've just seen SO much of that lately I thought I'd wait for something a little more out-of-the-ordinary before posting. But that ain't happening.
So, in honor of the week of rain that's forecast, I present an umbrella (which I do plan on making of use). This has been hanging out in Simon's Box o' Stuff since he brought it in sometime last year and, as far as his 'gifts' go, I have to say this might be one of the most useful items yet. It doesn't even feel caked in grime and fluids like so many of his things, so that's a plus.

acts of confinement

2008-01-14T14:33:00.001-08:00

Simon likes to lick the walls of my shower. While the sight of him on his hind legs, front paws splayed across my tile wall, licking small drops of water has never really stop looking a bit odd, I have grown accustomed to it. I've also learned to pull back the shower curtain and check for the little guy before closing the door in an effort to keep my dog from the trashcan. This weekend in my haste to get out of the house I left out that crucial step.
And that's how Simon's week long strike ended.
After I returned home to to hear his cries of imprisonment I let him out, covered him in apologies and chin scratches and left again. He was apparently so happy to have been set free that he went on a stealing binge.

I think one of my neighbors is bathing outside again.
You just know when you come home to this that there's good stuff waiting inside.

A friend recently asked me if there was a mechanic in my 'hood. No, there's just a rag fetishist.

It's nice that Simon brought the hair AND the hat that went over it. Anyone missing some DNA?

A dirty, red rag...

and look - it has a twin.

A forest green jacket. What you can't tell from this photo is that the jacket felt like it had been soaked in oil, dried, then spit on. I don't think my floor will ever stop feeling sticky.

picket line

2008-01-11T18:38:00.001-08:00

I'm pretty sure Simon has been on strike all week and, if one is to believe that he really does understand what I'm saying, I think it might be my fault. I may have said something about 'taking it to the next level' and 'kicking it up a notch' with his finds. But I didn't mean it ... he's still my favorite little guy even when he only brings in the dirt on his back.
Regardless, he has brought me nothing all week.
Well, I can't really say that. He has been hunting judging from the rags lining the perimeter of my house, but he's refusing to bring them in. It's almost passive aggressive. He knows I can see that rag laying there by my car on the driveway, so why won't he just finish the job?
Clearly I've upset him.
So I went out and found this item hanging from my fence. It's a tie-down, or so someone with much great knowledge of these things then I, has told me. It's actually pretty fantastic but I can see why, after it got hung up on the fencing, he just left it there. It's about 10 ft long. Imagine the beautiful sight that must have been - a small cat dragging a long, bright orange swath of nylon and metal down the sidewalk (he only uses the sidewalks). Brilliant. Anyway, I probably would have left it hanging there also ... but those rags? There's no excuse for that.

shameless

2008-01-06T15:31:00.001-08:00

I guess the last 16 rags just weren't dirty enough

and God bless the little thieving kitties

Simon has never brought home a skirt before. It's a first. Always expanding his horizons...what a guy.

And now for a shameless plug -
This whole blog thing is a new frontier for us and we've just found out that there are blog awards. Who knew? So we'd now like to ask you guys to give Simon some props and vote for him at the Eight Annual Weblog Awards
It's really simple, just go to the above link and scroll down to the "Best New Weblog" category, which is way down near the bottom, and enter Simon's site. You have to vote for three total so we thought we'd give you some ideas from blogs we're quite fond of:
Best Photography of a Weblog
Dallas photog Courtney Perry's personal photo blog
Best Writing of a Weblog
The fabulous Dena Taylor. In addition to writing well she also plays a mean game of bingo and last year she kicked cancer's ass.
Most Humorous Weblog
You'll waste hours on this site...and be happy you did.
Best-Kept Secret Weblog
We recently met animator, and all-round good guy, Trevor Romain over some manchego cheese and crackers. He's set to premiere his new tv show on PBS, has written numerous children's books and in his spare time pays visits to kids in Africa - I'm pretty sure he's a superhero.

Nominations are due by January 11. Simon, and I, thank you!

A gift for each paw

2008-01-05T13:45:00.001-08:00

Yes, it's a rag. Surprised? One day I'll find the person who hoards all their dirty rags and I'll give them a coupon to the Container Store.

No, I did not pose the glove this way. It, or Simon, decided to give me the finger all on it's own.

He just couldn't get enough rag this night.

An orange peel in a bag. The little guy decided to shake it up a bit. What's interesting is that I was told citrus peel is a natural feline deterrent, and that people often use them in their gardens to keep out neighboring cats. Right. It works real good.

Laundry trifecta

2008-01-01T10:17:00.001-08:00

This is the most fantastic variation on rag that he's brought home in some time.

You know how when you wash clothes you always seem to lose a sock? You might want to talk to Simon about that.

This is way too clean. I pretty sure it falls under the 'things people are currently using' category. Somewhere a mother is frantically looking for her baby's favorite bib - yeah, I feel a little guilty, but what am I suppose to do ask people to start putting address labels on their clothes? Okay, that might not be a bad idea...

hands, heads and dirt

2007-12-29T13:51:00.001-08:00

I'm begging you people ... please put away your dirty rags. Please.

Mangled glove. At least this one is somewhat interesting looking. I swear, I think the little guy is obsessed with rags and gloves. You have no idea how many of them I've seen in my house.

Simon ended his day around 1am with a nightcap.

almost there

2007-12-27T16:42:00.001-08:00

I think he was feeling lazy. Not only is this MY bag that was in the garage, but he gave up and just left it sitting there, stuck in the cat door. I guess when he can't find anything to his liking out in the world he peruses the garage and takes something from there, or he pilfers it when doesn't feel like leaving the house. I'm on to him, but I can't really complain. Having my own belongings moved about my home is still better then the dead mouse he brought in a few nights ago.
And to Andrew, who is doubting Simon's abilities, I 'll quote a friend of mine who, at a party one night, during discussion about Simon, said "I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. I've never seen Jesus but I've seen Simon dragging a bag over the fence. That shit is for real!".
Can't really argue with that.
Oh, and the catcam is undergoing some technical problems (like it hasn't worked yet). But there is video coming ... it just may take awhile.

Simon says...

2007-12-24T13:45:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!
My favorite thing about this stocking is, if you look very closely, you'll notice that there's still a tack attached. I really hope he didn't grab this off someone's mantle but if he did ... sorry about that Monica.

hand it over

2007-12-21T21:37:00.001-08:00

This is the conversation I just had after returning from dinner and finding this hand towel on my floor:
"Is this ours or Simon's?"
"Ours...no...I think that's Simon's. Is that blood?"
"I'm not sure. Can you tell?"
"I'm not touching that thing."
"I need to shoot it for the blog."
"Yuck."
I decided the red had a little too much violet in it for blood. But it was still nasty.

if the glove fits

2007-12-18T09:35:00.000-08:00

Yes, he did take the neighbor's glove ...

and his other glove ...

and then he went and grabbed the mates.

He also threw in a rag just to mix things up a bit.
The little guy had quite a busy night. But the appearance of the items a day after the missing glove alert was sounded by my neighbor does throw some question into Simon's thieving ways. Until now I just assumed that he walked around the neighborhood, found something he liked, and brought it back into the house. But where was he hiding the first two gloves for more then a day? A friend has pointed out that maybe Simon has a safe house where he hides his hot items until the time is right to bring them back home. I mean, would I really be surprised to find a stash of stolen items hiding behind a bush somewhere in my hood? No, not at all.
So, as I handed my neighbor his missing gloves this morning he declared that he was going to have to "simonize" his yard. How cool - my cat's name has become a verb.

love your rug

2007-12-16T21:39:00.000-08:00

Somewhere in my neighborhood someone woke up and thought "where is my rug? who would steal something like that?"

Simon. That's who.
Today, within an hour, two of my neighbors knocked on our door asking if Simon had brought home their belongings. The first guy was holding two gloves, two different gloves, each with a missing mate. The best part is that he sounded almost apologetic as he explained that he 'accidently' left his gloves outside - as if he was taunting Simon and he knew it and now felt bad. The second person was the twelve-year-old son of neighbors two doors away from the first guy. He was baring holiday treats and a pleas for a pair of moccasins. Neither the glove nor the shoes have made their way through our cat door. Of course that doesn't mean that Simon didn't take them, he probably did, and we'll most likely see them in the coming days. And yes, we'll return them. It is almost Christmas after all - peace on earth, good will toward men, and return stuff your cat has stolen - that's the spirit.

Bigfoot

2007-12-12T16:04:00.001-08:00

Size 11.5 Nikes. So big they wouldn't even fit through the cat door. I found these waiting in my garage, I guess somehow Simon knows that shoes come in pairs and it's important to grab both of them. Is there any doubt that Simon rules? I didn't think so.

Time to dry off

2007-12-03T16:49:00.001-08:00

After two live geckos Simon finally went back to inanimate objects. Unfortunately (mainly, because it's boring) he is currently on a rag kick. He does this. There was the glove phase, then a shoes phase, then a what-the-hell-is-that phase. I'm not sure what drives him to bring home what he does but I'm figuring out that it is all rather calculated. Maybe this week he'll move on to various denominations of money. One can only hope...

Blame it on the rain...

2007-11-28T23:00:00.000-08:00

It's been raining here, and cold, two weather conditions which don't seem to agree with Simon's delicate sensibilities, and although the sun has finally popped out the little guy isn't really in the hunting mood it seems. He did bring me a gecko for lunch today, but that doesn't really count. About as close as we've gotten to any real gifts has been this:

A homemade flag? I don't know, but he brought it home a few months ago and the stick, which is so long I couldn't include it in the frame, has rendered it incapable of fitting into the Simon Box O'Stuff. So it's been sitting in his temporary box since it came home. I guess he was in the hunting mood, but not ready to get cold, the other night because I heard clanking around coming from the garage and, just like the first time he brought this home, I found this laying there when I went to see what all the fuss was about. Even though it's not new I was still heartened to know that he was thinking of me and at least trying to get me a gift.
In other news the sensor activated camera I ordered from the fine folks at B&H has finally arrived. So, if the weather starts to meet Simon's criteria for hunting, I'm hoping to have video to share in the coming week(s).

It's that time of year...

2007-11-22T09:31:00.000-08:00

I wish I could say these showed up last night just in time for the Christmas season kick off of early morning shopping and rampant consumerism but, no, these are from Simon's box. He brought them in last spring. But now that it's Christmas light time I am left in a bit of a quandry: I love old-school lights like these but I can't put them up, can I? These lights aren't too common anymore (I tried to find some last year) so I think the owner might notice if they see them hanging from my tree. Of course, I'd give them back, if asked. That's the Christmas-y thing to do, right?

This can't be true...?

2007-11-18T20:36:00.001-08:00

I'm hearing from doubters. So I'd like to take a moment to address the truthiness of this blog.
I ain't lyin'. No really, my cat does this all on his own and the tire gauge story is factual.
And why don't I have any photos of Simon holding a pair of gloves in his mouth? Have you ever seen one of those wildlife photographer episodes on the Nat Geo channel? Well, if you haven't here's the lowdown: HOURS are spent waiting for those monkeys to pick bugs out of each other's hair. And getting Simon as he bolts through the cat door would take that same dedication to time and my job just won't allow it. Eventually I need to leave the house. Plus I'd need a great disguise because as soon as he sees me he drops what he's got.
But for those who don't believe and those who have been asking, a sensor activated remote is in the works and cat-cams are being discussed. Stay tuned...

Reasons to clean

2007-11-18T17:39:00.000-08:00

I have no idea when this came into the house, I found it under my dresser, and it's crunchiness leads me to believe it's been there a while.

While I'm on the subject of insects I (and Simon) would like to give some props to our favorite insect (I guess technically that's arachnid) photographer. Not for the squeamish, but definitely for the curious, take a look at Chris's blog, it's good stuff. Although I've never met Chris in the flesh I do know his fabulous and very talented wife. Her blog (which, fyi, was the inspiration for this blog) rocks. If you like photos you'll love this. Simon has even been know to pick up the speed on his biscuit-making when he sees her stuff on the screen.

Triple play wednesday

2007-11-17T11:27:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week a cold front blew through and around here we call that "crazy animal weather" because the neighborhood comes alive with animals streaking through their front yards and fighting with each other. It's generally also a good night for Simon. It's not, however, a good night for sleep (read the FAQ's for Simon's gifting procedure and you'll know what I mean).

The world will never be at a shortage for gardening gloves, no matter how hard Simon tries.

Upping the bar on the meaning of 'dirty rag'.

I really think he gets into people's laundry rooms because there just isn't any other excuse for the amount of socks he manages to find.

Please clean up your trash...

2007-11-17T11:23:00.001-08:00

because if you don't Simon will deposit it on my floor.
Simon hadn't brought anything new home in a few days and this was his response (four hours later) after I said "Hey, I need something for the blog. Get busy little guy." I think I'll be more specific next time.

other people's trash

2007-11-13T14:39:00.000-08:00

I don't think Simon is bringing me 'gifts' anymore, I think he's just cleaning up the neighborhood.

The things people leave laying around

2007-11-09T12:29:00.000-08:00

A small cast, complete with ace bandage. Which really begs the question - who the hell leaves something like this just laying around their house? That's just nasty. And yes, it made the most fantastic noise dropping to the floor as he dragged it through the cat door.

Stealing from children

2007-11-08T22:31:00.001-08:00

Size 4t. I left this hanging from our front tree for a few days hoping the owner would see it. I mean, who doesn't feel a bit bad knowing some four-year-old can't go out to play because his jacket was heisted by their thieving cat?

Go Cherries

2007-11-07T11:31:00.002-08:00

Cheerleader Barbie. This is what I found waiting for me at home after my first night playing with The Cherries kickball team. No lie. I'm glad to know we had Simon's support.

Person appropriate

2007-11-06T11:32:00.001-08:00

I was out of town and my house sitter came home to find this on the floor. The great thing about this, besides the fact that it's a pillow, is that my house sitter is a shopaholic. It's like he knows...

Let's reflect

2007-11-05T10:09:00.001-08:00

Someone isn't safe anymore.

Out of the box

2007-11-05T10:08:00.001-08:00

42DD. We know how he likes his ladies.

I heart halloween

2007-11-05T09:59:00.001-08:00

Because Simon ups the ante of what he brings home. This is what I found Sunday morning when I turned the corner of my house. A nice big, curly, black wig. This wig is actually bigger then Simon. Somewhere some guy is telling his buddies about seeing a cat carrying this down the sidewalk, and his friends are telling him that he's on crack.

So not everything that Simon finds makes it into the house. A lot of stuff, particularly things like wigs, get caught up on the fence. This will soon be a non-issue once we've finished building our wooden fence, complete with an entrance for Simon and all his things.

small furry animals

2007-11-04T20:32:00.001-08:00

These are some of the 'stuffed animal' highlights from Simon's box .

A hedgehog. I mean, it's a bit nasty, but it's so cute at the same time. Somewhere a small child is missing this.

No child is missing this. This thing came from a shallow grave.

I'm pretty sure it's a felony in Texas to steal someone's Bevo.

A face only a mother could love ... to rip out! I don't want to know the back story of how this bear lost it's stuffing. It seems way to calculated.

smudges of unknown origin

What does this word mean?

2007-11-02T13:05:00.000-07:00

Cayucos? This one's from the box. More old stuff to come soon.

12:55am Friday

2007-11-02T12:58:00.001-07:00

Nasty towelette. I'll put this in the 'rag' category and jettison it right into the trashcan. I don't want to know what this was used to clean, but I think I saw blood.

11:35pm Tuesday

2007-11-01T21:16:00.001-07:00

If ever there's a murder in our neighborhood I'm pretty sure Simon will find the bloody glove before the police do. This now makes glove #20.

1:15pm Monday

2007-11-01T21:11:00.001-07:00

Maybe it was my sniffling or maybe it was my afghan-wrapped CSI marathon but somehow Simon picked up on the fact that I was at home because of a cold. So he brought me a handkerchief. Freaky, isn't it?

F.A.Q.'s

2007-11-01T10:11:00.000-07:00

1. Are you for real?
Yes. You can't make this up.
2. Has he ever brought home money?
No, but I keep waving twenties in his face hoping he'll get the point.
3. Do you keep this stuff?
Of course. We currently have one 4x3 foot container filled and another box for new things as they come in.
4. Have your neighbors complained?
Not to us. But once a little girl did stop by asking if we'd seen her missing shoes. We had. In our kitchen. So we pulled them out of the box and gave them back. We try to be nice when
we can.
5. How did this start?
An open door and a ski mask. Appropriate I thought.
6. Have you ever asked him to bring home something specific?
I once needed a tire gauge and came home that night to find a bag with 5 gauges in it on my doorstep. For real.
7. What is Simon like?
He's a little on the small side, but makes up for it in personality. Hobbies include slapping the dog around and making slow, precise, biscuits on whoever will volunteer their belly.
8. What's the strangest thing he's brought home?
An outdoor lounge cushion that was three feet long.
9. How does this go down?
He generally (unless the item is too big - see above question) bolts through his cat door holding his 'find' in his mouth, then he'll take the item to our dining area, drop it and let out an 80 decibel meow letting us know he brought us something. He'll then get lots of praise.
10. Does he bring home animals?
Unfortunately yes. Sometimes the killer in him comes out. So far we've had mice, grasshoppers, geckos and birds. All in various stages of living or dead.
11. Does he have any 'favorite' items?
No, but rags seem to show up a lot. If there's anything I've learned about human nature from this it's that people love rags.
12. Have you ever used anything he's brought home?
After returning from an out-of-town trip I found a scarf on a chair, mistakenly thought it belong to our house sitter and wore it. Three days later she told me it wasn't hers. I scrubbed my neck for hours. The housesitter pointed out that "that's what I get" for wearing her stuff. Point made.

he was feeling a little red

2007-11-01T10:04:00.001-07:00

A christmas coaster and a feather duster - color coordinated. And people say cats don't see in color.

back catalog

2007-11-01T09:54:00.000-07:00

No, I don't know where these came from, and I really don't want to either. Lately Simon has been on an 'undies' kick. Clean, dirty, torn, new ... it doesn't matter to him. While we appreciate the thought I'm hoping it's at least 40 more years before I find myself needing any granny panties. This pair came in a few months ago and is currently living in Simon's box 'o stuff in the garage. When he's feeling lazy he'll go grab it and present it like it's new. At current count I've found this particular one on my kitchen floor 5 separate times. Maybe he likes the smell...