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March 10, 2008
Who's Your Daddy?
I never thought I'd say this, but I'm trying to get Kieffer to eat.
Starting Saturday morning I noticed he wasn't really eating. He'd lap a bit at his food but not gobble up the whole dish instantly as normal. That morning he hadn't finished his food from the night before, and he didn't even get out of his chair to come for feeding when I woke up. This is NOT NORMAL behavior for Kieffer the Howling Cat.
Yet he seemed okay, physically. When I petted, he purred. I had a long petting session with him, after which he tried to take a few bites.
I think he misses MR. MR has been away at a scientific conference since early Friday morning, and the cat's world is shattered. Suddenly all MR-inspired routine is whisked away, replaced by late meals, irregular sleeping, in and out the door a la Mommy. MR may in fact be a cat, so much does he love routine. A cat living with MR is in paradise: the meals are on time, everything happens on a regular interval every single day, and he is never, ever alone. Kieffer loves MR. MR does not love Kieffer, not entirely unrelated to the peeing on backpack incident(s) of our early cohabitation, but Kieffer worships MR with all the loyalty of vassal cat for feudal lord head cat. MR, in addition to being the love of my life and a great snooze alarm, has become a cat.
So Kieffer misses him. Thank Goddess he'll be home tonight, albeit late.
I was at the store trying to find something the cat might eat. So I decided to buy some S-H-R-I-M-P. Five, please.
The seafood guy was perplexed. No, not five pounds. Five raw shrimp, please. Thank you.
This clearly required explanation.
"My cat loves shrimp more than anything and he's on a hunger strike because his daddy is away and he thinks he's left us."
The cat must love his daddy... and shrimp... opined the seafood guy at the Giant store.
Yes, yes he does. And I do too. Love the cat's father. And shrimp. MR more than shrimp, though the lack of a fetching little shrimp-like tail can only be counted as a detraction from his overall charm.
"So, who's your daddy?" asked the seafood guy.
We both quickly realized that a slight misspeaking was about to turn into downright inappropriateness, complete with quotes from Zombies lyrics.
"I mean, who's your cat's daddy?" quickly corrected the seafood guy. "Your husband?"
Yes, yes, I said, deciding that now was not the time to launch into a description of the finer pleasures and complex virtues of unmarried lifetime partnership. Yes, my husband, yes. Please hand me my shrimp.
I got my shrimp, and exited. The seafood guy really was quite charming in a just barely post-adolescent way, having so clearly ingested the "Excellent customer service... sell more!" model that he asked me what else I needed. No tilapia today, but thank you for offering. Very charming fellow indeed. I wish him pounds and pounds of seafood sales.
Meanwhile, the cat ate the shrimp. Now he's sitting by the door waiting for MR to come home.
Love is grand, isn't it?
Posted by april at March 10, 2008 6:51 PM
Comments
Tee hee! MR as the alpha cat? I love it! Silly girl, though: I'll bet your fish guy was referencing Toby Keith's song, "Who's Your Daddy?" Check it out -- it fits! JD ;-)
Posted by: Judith (MoMR) at March 10, 2008 7:46 PM
Just in case it's a little more than pining for MR, have you checked Kieffer's teeth? Sore teeth are usually the first thing to stop an old cat eating in my experience.
Posted by: Sara at March 10, 2008 9:57 PM
It pays to always be nice to the guy who picks your seafood. Every week, I greet my seafood guy with a smile and all the courtesy I have in me. Remember, *you* can't tell how long that fillet been sitting there, but *he* surely knows.
Posted by: Robin at March 11, 2008 6:17 AM
What would a supermarket excursion be, w/o some sort of interesting diversion? The guy who works in the dept. where I buy cold-cuts is quite a character: I've already learned that he served in the navy, his wife "makes" him eat healthy (which means he doesn't, apparently, consume the very thing I am being so bold as to purchase, with his help), his temperature is always naturally a shade or two higher than the norm - and - He greatly admired the purple coat I was wearing, and thought it would look pretty nice on *him*, as well!
Posted by: Eris at March 12, 2008 4:57 AM