Pip Is a New Curse Word

I’m sitting in my office working on an edit of Fighter’s Bane, uploading Davina’s Magical Radio to Barnes and Nobel's Pubit, chatting on Facebook, answering email, and listening to Taylor Swift at a dangerously loud volume in my headphones.  (I’m either a multitasker or I just have such a short memory that I keep forgetting what I’m working on so I have to start something new.  You decide.).

Nonetheless, every cat in the house is in my office.  (I use the word “office” lightly since it’s really a poorly walled-off section of a back porch.)  But at least I have an office, so I’m happy about that.  But it is a bit of a small room, so I’ve pretty much got wall to wall cats in here.  And almost every one of the little darlings is fast asleep, looking amazingly cool the way cats do when they get all curled up.  Balto has such a fluffy tail that he curls around and uses his tail as a pillow.

Pip's Baby Picture

But did you notice I said almost every cat was asleep?  Because my dear sweet little Pip is most definitely not asleep.  Oh no, not Pip.  Of all my cats, Pip is the one with the innate ability to get into what he should not at the worst possible times for me to stop him.

I decided to jot down this blog post because for the last 30 minutes I’ve been using Pip’s name like a swear-word.  You know what I mean?  I’m so angry I’m practically spitting his name out.  He has managed to get into, knock down, tear open, bite through, and get stuck in every single thing he knows he shouldn’t.   And I do mean knows, because it’s not like he hasn’t been in trouble in here before.  I’m sitting here, exhausted from yelling “PIP,” and asking myself how such a little cat can cause sooooooooooo much trouble.

Now in his defense, he is the best cuddler in the house.  He’s skinny and wiry, and the second I sit down in my recliner he jumps on my chest and does his best to worm his way under my chin.  If I open my mouth he tries to stick his head in.  And once he’s under my chin, if I stop petting him, he just raises up and head-butts me until I pet him again.  Sometimes when he’s up on my chest he puts both paws around my neck and squeezes them together just like he’s hugging me.  It is clearly one of the coolest things in the world.  If you’re a cat person you know that’s nirvana.  If you’re not a cat person I will never be able to explain how cool a cat hug can be.

Pip Showing Off His Climbing Skills

(I need to point out that Pip’s brother Rascal is not far behind in the cuddle department.  If he sees Pip up on me he’ll climb up on my chest too and just lay down on top of Pip.  And when I ask him if he loves me he always rubs his face against mine.  It’s pretty cool.)

However, tonight/this morning is one of those times when I wish Pip had an off switch. And even as I write this he’s sitting atop the monitor, hanging over the front and taking swipes at the cursor.  Yes, I admit, he’s cute.  Nonetheless, since I think cussing is wrong, I’ve now forbidden myself from ever using his name again.