Smokey

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We have a cat named Smokey. We, well Roger, brought her home on  our anniversary in 2009 Someone had left her tied in a Walmart bag at the dump where we take our trash. Roger picks up around the dumpsters when he goes there, because that is the sort of person he is.The bag moved when he picked it up, and he heard a small pitiful cry. This was taken the day he brought her home. She was so adorable, litter trained in one session, and has slept with and on us ever since. She has been outside maybe four times.

Fast forward two and a half years. She is now the undisputed empress of the Apple household, as you can see from this picture of her sitting atop her throne (the Royal blue easy chair with golden fleur-de-lis scattered about). As you can see, there is an obscene number of empty cardboard boxes on our living room floor. This is because Her Highness demands fresh cardboard to roll about in at her whim. 

She sleeps in them, and hides in them to jump out at us as the mood strikes.You will also notice a fuzzy pink toy on the floor. (The pile of debris on the floor to the lower right is part and parcel of Roger's art - I will share more of that later) The fuzzy pink toy is a battery operated pig that offers at times an entire 15 minutes of distraction for Smokey. That is a long time in cat-time. The pig oinks and the tail twitches as the pig walks around in circles. Smokey perches on the arm of her throne, contemplating the interloper. I actually do not think cats have a very good long-term memory, because we can play this scenario over again with her in two weeks and she still jumps like she has never seen the fuzzy pink pig before, ever! Two 53-year-olds can be amused rather easily in our house because we will sit and laugh like crazy when the pig is running in circles. 

She will hide in a corner, and pounce on the fuzzy pink pig after determining the pig is in fact a danger to her monarchy. She is the best inside stalker ever. She has honed this skill by waiting patiently for me to get out of the shower and make sure I was not replaced by an alien while shampooing my hair.

Of course, all of her hard work is not as physically draining. One of her easier tasks is making sure Roger sleeps well. She will sit on his stomach and keep watch over the tall human whose rescued her from the evil place. She really is our baby.