My Pet Cat Kricket

I can’t recall what her given name was when we adopted her. I just remember that she was about six or seven months old and in danger of losing her little kitty life because her current owner considered her to be untrainable.

 Well as luck would have it she turned out to actually be litter trained so a few of my concerns about adopting this tiny terror were laid to rest the first night of her arrival. Unfortunately, her previous owner was right in her judgment of this sweet looking little bundle of fluff, she was indeed one little grey fur ball of pure uncontrollable trouble.

She enjoyed the taste of human food and she didn’t care who’s plate she was able to steal it from or whether or not that person was in the process of eating it when she swooped in to snatch it.  

She would skitter across the kitchen table knocking everything in her pathway off as she flew through grabbing food as she went. As we began to figure out what she was up to we began firmly grabbing onto our cups and plates as soon as we heard the sound of little claws gearing up for a rapid run in our direction.

Foiled in her attempts at destruction within the kitchen she took to attacking the remainder of the house with a vengeance. She hung off the clothes in my closet and the drapes in the living room. She clawed her way along the bottom of our couch till I gave up and invested in a wooden sofa. She even managed to open the Christmas presents under our tree and why she did that is completely beyond me. I was beginning to think that this little piece of fur must have come accompanied by a whole pack of other beasts that she kept hidden throughout the house for whenever she chose to call on their aide. How could one little kitty cause so much damage?

 She adored the fact that I owned a fish tank and she fell in love with the idea of figuring out a way to gain ownership of the tank’s occupants. This was a rather good thing because it managed to occupy her itty little mind for hours at a time. She never did succeed in her quest to dine on a fish dinner but she certainly did acquire a few unscheduled baths in her attempts.

She was on the verge of being named ‘That damn cat’ but it turns out that Kricket had a strange attraction for little creatures that hopped and she had an annoying habit of dragging them into the house with her every chance that she got.

 Now you would think that a person would get used to having grasshoppers and crickets suddenly springing out at you with every step you take but for some reason it would appear that this is a little surprise that a person’s heart just never quite gets used to. 

These critters were coming at us from all directions. They found their way into every room in the house. They were under furniture as often as on top of it, in cupboards (gosh knows how?) and even inside the fridge and stove. We had to shake our beds before we could turn in for the evening or we would be sure to find a hopper or two under the covers with us. This cat was turning out to be a miniature Godzilla. A one kitty reign of terror.

 Thank god this yearly invasion of the grass croppers only lasted during the summer months or our adopted feline may have found herself gift wrapped and placed onto the front step of some other unsuspecting pet lover’s home. If her indoor antics were less destructive then she may have found herself becoming an indoor cat munching on cat grass rather than that which grew in the great outdoors. But that was not likely to happen as I could not visualize her and I locked in with each other twenty-four seven without one of us losing our sanity. Sadly I kind of figured that crazy individual would be me.

 Kricket lived to around fourteen years of age and I am sure that somewhere up in kitty heaven there are probably a few little green and brown hoppy creatures still complaining about her previous behaviour down here on Earth.

They may not be perfectly polite but they are always filled with an over abundance of cuddly love and affection. In return show your pet how much you love him or her. Please spay or neuter to help increase the possibility of every pet finding a loving home.

Related Articles by Lorelei Cohen