On That Note
He crept along the edges of the room, eyeing the wet-nosed, fluffy giant that traipsed after us rascal children who skipped back and forth, gathering branches and passing them along to Mama and Daddy.
No one noticed as our snaggle-toothed warrior cat inched along, army crawling under the couch and darting behind the chair, quiet as a shadow. He lurked behind the curtains, peaking out to see if his nemesis, our happy-go-lucky giant of a dog, had left the room. But no, she was sniffing the box full of ornaments, her giant head beginning to dent the edge of the cardboard.
Indy recoiled as the Bernese mix moved from the box of ornaments to the ground, snuffling as she took in all the scents of Christmas preparation. As she picked up his scent and began following his trace, his cat-eyes grew wide as saucers and his ears flattened back.
Like a shot, Indy launched himself from his hiding place, zoomed across the floor, dodged startled children's legs and Older Sister's arms and leapt for the newly erected and fully assembled Christmas tree. Our Bernese mix jumped back and whipped around, wagging her tail, ready for a chase, but it was too late. Our declawed wonder had already heaved himself up to the tip of our now swaying tree as if his life depended on it. Bobbles and balls bounced from the top as our 7-foot tree threatened to topple.
At 5 years old, I stood in shock as ornaments bounced around my feet, then quickly backed up as Older Sister, Mama and Daddy took charge. Mama reached for Indy, but he glared with ears back and teeth bared. Hiiiisssssss. Immediately, the Bernese mix was there, barking and standing tall by Mama's side.
My other siblings and I stood back, eyes wide as Older Sister tried to calm Indy down and Daddy snagged him by the scruff of the neck. Older Sister quickly gathered her snaggle-toothed beast into her arms, cradling him like a baby and rushing away from the dog. As soon as he was in her arms, he calmed, practically hugging her and meowing like a kitten in need of milk.
And just like that, as quickly as the chaos had ensued, it subsided. The tree did not topple, the ornaments that had fallen were replaced and the pets were banned from entering a 4-foot diameter around the tree.
On that note, now that Thanksgiving is at its end and the Christmas season is being ushered in, be sure to keep an eye on your animals. Any change can make them nervous, which oftentimes causes them to act out. And, if you have cats, keep them away from the tree.