Lily

This is Lily, Joe Jr’s 18 month old (I guess) Tabby. As you can see, she is perfectly color-coordinated with my decor (which I like to refer to as the Bachelor-Dork Motif). Generally, cats are really weird creatures and Lily doesn’t disappoint in that department. She has all the typical attributes of her species: pretention, aloofness, arrogance, stubbornness – OK I am just kidding about that (I think).

Lily has an incredibly keen sense of sound and has to be the lightest sleeping cat in existence. When she is sleeping upstairs at night, it is almost impossible for one to travel from upstairs to downstairs in the morning without waking her. By the way, once awoken in the morning, she is determined to beat you down the steps.

One morning last summer, I had just gotten up for work and was headed downstairs to start some clothes in the dryer, when she tore across the second floor, and took a short cut by leaping from the second floor landing through the banister to the second step of the stairs. It was like Deon Sanders jumping an out route on an unsuspecting receiver. In her haste to beat me downstairs, she undercut me right as I stepped from the first step to the second step of the stairs. I was half-asleep at this point and didn’t quite have all my bearings so I attempted to avoid her by altering my stride. I missed the damn cat but also the meaty part of the step. My heal just brushed the front of the step and I slipped off the step and fell on my elbow and ass. I maintained a grip on the railing with one hand but still dribbled down a couple of steps. Great way to start the morning. Expletive deleted. But I learned my lesson – let the traffic clear when you are sharing the road with Lily. Pwned.

Lily enjoys tight spaces as well. During the cooler months, she will wedge herself inside of the entertainment center and lay right up against the equipment for warmth. She will then look press up against the glass and stair at us watching TV. She especially enjoys adopting this position when Chris’ dog Hailey is visiting. As if to taunt Hailey to take a run at her through the glass. Of course, an empty case of Coors Light will work as well for a tight enclosure. Lately she has been taking up residence in the workstation in my bedroom, on the top shelf.

She is an outdoor cat and loves exploring the large wooded lots in our development. There are of course a ton of squirrels to pursue and she is incredibly patient in the hunt. Lately she has been helping out with the population control of moles and other rodents. We don’t have a problem with those and hardly ever see them, unless Lily drags one back to the front porch after an evening’s festivities. But something tells me she is getting a little bored with the small game.

A couple of weeks ago, I went out to the garage for something and when I opened the door, saw Lily staring a deer down from about four paces. She pivoted to look at me and meowed and then I quietly ran back in and grabbed the camera. To my surprise, they were both still chilling out when I returned and I was able to get one picture snapped from the entrance doorway to the garage. When I attempted to get a little close, the deer bolted. From the relaxed comfort that both creatures were exhibiting, I have to believe this wasn’t their first encounter.