Moose...The Prince

Moose.

What can I say about The Moose?

When he was a baby, he was the first to crawl out of the bed and always the first to find his way into trouble. Under my bed, part way down the hall or in a boot in the closet. Since he was such an explorer, I originally named him Lewis. But, he very quickly grew bigger than any of his littermates so he became The Moose.

I had to choose between Moose and Emma when we were giving away kittens from Squeak's first full litter. We had someone who wanted one of our kittens. Two were gone and I was trying to decide which of the other two I would keep. I couldn't decide so I kept them both. Moose and Emma.

Moose is the athlete. He can jump higher, keep jumping longer, run faster and climb trees like a squirrel. He'll run full speed along the top of a wooden fence. He reclines comfortably in the branches of a tree. I've seen him jump from the porch rail to the roof of the house. He's tall and lanky and weighs about 15 pounds. A very dark grey Tabby.

It's hard to describe his walk. More like a tiger or lion than a housecat. Kind of a "cool" saunter, swaying a little, tail down, head up. Obviously knows he's a great looking cat. There are guys like him in every high school; tall, strong, athletic; the coaches and girls love them...dumb as a rock. Moose is a cat who needs a Letterman jacket and someone to do his homework.

I accuse him of being dumb but he was the first to figure out where the red dot comes from. He knows the toy when I get it out and he sets up to be ready to catch it this time. When he gets frustrated, he jumps up and tries to knock the laser from my hand. Also, if we had a door handle instead of a door knob, he'd be opening the door by himself all the time. If I figured I could get him to close it behind him, I'd put one on.

He likes to sleep on his back and I can really get the purr motor going by scratching his belly.

When Moose and Squeak wrestle and play/fight, I can see where Aikido comes from. Both of them use moves I learned long ago. It's kind of cool to watch little Squeak throw Moose with an Irimi Nagi. Then the two will race up and down the hall as hard and fast as they can go. Fun to watch during the day. Somewhat annoying at 3 in the morning.

I pick him up and hold him across my chest with his head on my shoulder. He'll put up with such things for a few moments, purring hard, then he's had enough and wants down. Just like his mother. Sometimes he'll come up and shove his head under my hand and pet himself. Does that quite often when I'm asleep with my hand hanging over the edge of the bed. Rubbing his head on my hand and purring but if I try to pick him up it's "uh uh" and he saunters away. He likes to come lay on the counter in the bathroom when I'm in there...just out of reach.

My Big, Dumb Moosie.