9 Lives +1 OR SOTC 7/365

Both my cats have toy mice, which disappear and reappear 2-3 times per year. For as long as I can remember, Princess has been apt to bring me these mice as gifts; she always leaves them on my bath mat.

I'm not sure why the bath mat.

Perhaps because she often brings me these gifts in the night, and knows that the bathroom is the first place I go in the morning.

Perhaps because she and I have together time there while I'm getting ready for work, and she feels some sentimental attachment to the bathroom.

I dunno.

Sometimes she brings me things directly, but generally the bath mat is where it's always been.

When toy mice are inaccessible, Akira leans towards twist ties and the plastic strips from frozen concentrated juice cans. Princess, on the other hand, goes for anything small that moves. My contact lens case, a lens cap.... I have often seen my iPod waiting for me on the bath mat in the mornings. She has also been clever enough to root through the toy box I keep in the closet. Small stuffies occasionally make their way to the bath mat, too.

A couple weeks ago, Princess brought me--directly--a miniature sock monkey plush, and I realized that she has now discovered the joy of my brother's belongings. Oh, dear. I told my brother about Princess' habit, and never saw the plush monkey again.

Then recently, I noticed a stuffy at the bottom of the stairs. It is a plush version of the 1UP mushroom from Mario World. It's probably about 7" in diameter. I thought it strange that my brother would have it lying randomly on the floor. I briefly contemplated that Princess had discovered it, but quickly shook my head at this--it's far bigger than she normally goes for. It seemed more likely that Princess was doing something obnoxious and he'd thrown it at her.

A few days later, I saw the mushroom half way up the stairs and knew it had to be Princess (clearly, she was finding the large size of the object daunting if she only managed to get it half way up the stairs).

A few days after that, I heard Princess' signal cry--the one that lets me know she has something in her mouth right now and is bringing it to me. She came into the living room and dropped the mushroom where I was sitting. I was impressed at the effort, but nevertheless tossed the toy down the stairs before heading to bed.

Which brings me to when I came home from work today.

Apparently nine lives is not enough.