Dan Antion

My Space – #1LinerWeds

“Ha, those glasses bounced pretty well.”

No, this isn’t an ad for obsolete social media, this was more of a declaration. When I described the writing desk that I made, and how it has become my morning place, I neglected to mention something about the location. The desk is under a window in our bedroom – a window with a cat shelf. I built the cat shelf, too (more about that later). The cat shelf is about two feet (61cm) above the desk surface. That makes it the perfect place to put stuff that I want close by, but not in the way. For instance. I typically put my glasses up there.

Last week, while I was working at my desk on a rainy day, I heard MuMu crying. She either wanted to be fed, ‘cuz nobody ever feeds her, or she wanted to be scratched/brushed, ‘cuz nobody ever does either of those things. Except that we do feed, scratch and brush MuMu – often.

I went to the door where MuMu was sitting behind the child gate that keeps Maddie out, and I reached over and scratched her. MuMu moves around a lot when you scratch her, often stepping just out of reach, at which point she grumbles. Partly out of frustration and partly to be nice, I scooped MuMu up and brought her to the cat shelf. I wanted her to know that, even though I’m working at my desk, she can sit and look out the window.

She kneaded the carpet surface a bit, peaked out the window and then peaked at me from behind the curtain. Then she smacked my glasses off the shelf, as if to say:

“Keep your stuff off of my shelf!”

The shelf is over 20 years old. I made it for our first cat, Oreo. It’s an open frame made from Cherry, with a bit of carpet covering the opening. The idea was that the carpet would be like a hammock. The carpet has a nice sag to it now, no doubt due to inferior material, and it appears to be a comfy place to lay.

All of our cats have liked this shelf and a second one I made at the same time. They don’t show their appreciation well, but that’s par for the course with cats. MuMu stayed in the shelf for about 45 minutes, and then jumped down gracefully onto my laptop, and grumbled again.

This post is part of Linda G. Hill’s fun weekly series One-Liner Wednesday. If you have a one-liner, I’d encourage you to join in on the fun. You can follow this link to participate and to see the one-liners from the other participants.

“I do like this shelf.”
“I can still see where those glasses were.”
“Ha, those glasses bounced pretty well.”
“No one has fed me.”
I’m sure MiMi would like to wake up and say hi.
“Did I ask for a wake-up call?”
This bush is hanging onto its red leaves.
“Mmmmm, I like these.”
“Thanks buddy. I’ll be back.”
Maddie is more than willing to share her space.
We haven’t had many sunny days, but we’ve tried to make the most of them.

69 comments

  3. So typical of catdom – we must push everything off and out of our way. MuMu was simply following her feline instincts and showing you who’s boss. Hope your glasses didn’t suffer from the push-off and that MuMu is not dying of starvation and love.

    Have a great Wednesday, Dan, and enjoy whatever sun comes your way.

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    • Thanks Mary. The glasses are brand new. They weren’t bent, but the casual disregard with which she tossed them was absurd enough to be funny. The shelf is big enough for me to use a corner.

      We had a sunny day scheduled. Now it says rain. Maybe sun tomorrow. I hope you have a good day and a good rest of the week.

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  9. Well, that is the ‘cat shelf’ after all. And MuMu apparently needed a little extra room…. you know, the exact space your glasses were occupying!

    Perhaps you can put a short shelf halfway between your desk and the cat shelf to hold your glasses. Just sayin’…….

    Maddie looks very pleased with herself and her decks. I bet she was envisioning that Mt. Maddie will soon appear!!

    Mr. Squirrel has one fat tail!!

    Happy Hump Day. Yeah, we retirees still recognize Hump Day!
    🐾Ginger 🐾

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    • Thanks Ginger. MuMu does like to move around on the shelf. I guess she wanted to make sure she didn’t step on my glasses. I do have the little upper shelf on my desk, the cat shelf was just a convenient place for my specs. Oh well, not to be.

      Maddie seems to like the fact that she now has options. The deck in the back works for an unplanned “Sit” because I can sit on the deck and she lays on the step. She likes having the side of the deck to support her back.

      The squirrels have fat tails and a couple have some bellies that are making crawling through the fence a tight squeeze. It’s not all from our peanuts, they spend the day foraging in the yards on both sides of us (oak trees). Maybe they think we’re going to have a colder winter than the Weather Service says.

      I am still thinking in terms of a work week. It’s good to know it isn’t just me.

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  10. ‘smacked my glasses off the shelf’–cats are so good at smacking, aren’t they? I laughed at your very apt description, Dan. Poor MuMu–you can tell she is not loved or fed…! Gotta love the little furry ones.

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  11. I have heard of horse whisperers. Never heard of a cat grumbler til now. Sounds like a great topic for a blog. Retire and become a cat grumbler. Which is still much better than some other things advocated these days. Mimi is just trying to help you exercise. And that reminds me of a line in History of the World Part I. The first part of the line escapes me at the moment. However it ended with the word ‘Pull !’

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  12. Perfect one-liner, Dan. Cats are so independent until they want our attention. Then they are all loud and needy. And what is up with the knocking everything off any flat surface? I miss having cats, but there are too many allergies in our family now. Thanks for sharing yours.

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    • Thanks Maggie. When I watch our daughter’s cats, I sometimes stay over. I sleep on her couch, and I put all my stuff on the coffee table. When I wake up, it’s all on the floor. You’re welcome to virtually borrow MuMu, any time.

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  16. Yay! MuMu got her own feature! I realize it was difficult to get that many photos of her, Dan. Crystal does the “walk just out of reach and then grumble” thing too. Sometimes waddling around bent over is the only way to brush her… Have a wonderful Wednesday. Hugs!

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  19. As Roseanne Roseannadanna used to day, “It’s always something.” I can just see her swatting those glasses off. I love that very last shot of Maddie. She looks as if she just saw something extremely fascinating.

    janet

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    • Thanks Janet. I loved the Roseanne Roseannadanna character. MuMu wasted no time cleaning the shelf of the human’s junk. I think Maddie was looking at the bunny. She’s fascinated by the bunnies. I think she would chase them if we let her, but we like having them in the yard.

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  22. Ooh, a cat shelf! What a perfectly brilliant idea. I love the concept but I’m also certain my cat would take one look, walk past, and plop herself down on the closest inconvenient surface.

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    • We used to have a plant shelf in one of the south facing windows. That became a cat shelf after Oreo pushed the plants off. We have them on several windows. They still plop on all the inconvenient places, but…

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  25. Oh, I thought the slate post was your one-liner, so good I checked this one too. yeah, cats have a way of making things their own, including their owners:):)

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  28. HAH! I love that shelf, and would love to have a few in windows that otherwise wouldn’t be ‘used’. Also, the way you describe MuMu reminds me of my cat Clara, who should be called Flopsy, as she drops and flops when petted, almost always just out of reach!

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