Guard Cats!

From previous adventures, we all know that the Guard Cats are not big fans of thunderstorms.  So, just imagine their reaction when, over the past few weeks, the Guard Cats went through an earthquake and a hurricane!  However, in true, brave Guard Cats’ fashion, even though the rumblings of the earthquake and the roars of the winds and rain made them scared, they worked as a team and stood by their posts.  As the leader of the group, Stella kept a close eye on Brother and Sophia to make sure they hung in there. 

She reassured them and let them know that they would be okay and the storms would pass.  She gave up her own nap time to help Sophia and Brother watch out the windows for intruders and even gave them “kisses” to make them feel better!

When Brother wanted to go to sleep because he was scared, Stella helped tuck him into bed. 

And, when Sophia wanted to take a nap….well, Stella joined her– because even Stella can’t resist a good cat nap! 

Despite the weather problems, the Guard Cats still fearlessly protected the villa.  In the end, they’re all back to normal.  That is, until Stella saw something across the room….

Until next time….

Well, today, the Guard Cats have a well-deserved day off from guarding the Villa.  Mom and Dad plan to be home all day, so Stella thought this was the perfect opportunity for the cat trio to get some well-needed rest and relaxation.

Of course, the difficult part of taking the day off is deciding what the Guard Cats are going to do.  They have differing interests and hobbies, but at least they all agree on one thing– they would like to spend their day off together!  So, Sophia suggests instead of taking too much time arguing about what to do, they should play rock, paper, scissors and whoever wins, gets to choose their activity for this day off. 

They all agree and after some mild bickering and near pushing and shoving, Sophia is the winner and gets to choose.

Sophia has many hobbies in her free time, but she has been meaning to do one of her ol’ favorites– dumpster diving with the alley cats! Sophia was so excited, she could picture it now– alleys full of dumpsters with all sorts of thrown away food and garbage to pick through, mice and other rodents running around, her outdoor cat friends to hang out with…”Oh boy,” Sophia yelled, “I can’t wait!”  Stella just rolled her eyes as she would have preferred a relaxing day by the pool. 

Brother seemed not to care either way. 

He is afraid of alleys, dumpsters, alley cats, most rodents, and just about everything else, but since there is food involved, he’s in!

And so, the Guard Cats made their way downtown to enjoy their day off Sophia-style.  It seemed to go very well.  They were happy to return to the Villa re-energized, which was a good thing, because of what they saw when they got home…

Until next time…

Stella, Sophia and Brother are very aware of anything or anyone strange that may come into the Villa.  As Guard Cats, it is of course their job to make sure that nothing in the Villa presents a danger to them or Mom or Dad.  So, on grocery day, when countless plastic bags suddenly appear in the kitchen, Stella, Sophia and Brother sound the alarm and get right to work.

“Hurry up and get down here, Mom and Dad are back,” Brother signals from his post high up in the far window overlooking the driveway. 

“Now, make sure to properly greet them when they come in by rubbing against their legs and walking between their feet,” Sophia reminds them.  The front door of the Villa swings open, and as the Guard Cats go to greet Mom and Dad, they get their first glimpse of the bags they’re carrying.  “What is this!?” Stella yells. 

“Follow them, follow them…make sure we check everything in those bags,” she commands.  Sophia and Stella quickly race to the kitchen to get a better view from the counter as the plastic bags are now on the floor. 

“I’ll search these bags here and you two check the others,” Sophia tells them.

“We have to look in each one for safety,” she adds.  So, the Guard Cats root through the bags and find nothing suspicious. 

Stella was pleased with a job well done.  Brother was exhausted.  Sophia….well, while she didn’t find anything suspicious in the bags, she did find something that caught her interest…tomatoes!

“Now, if I can only drag this container under the bed away from the others,” she thought to herself.  It didn’t matter, though, because Dad soon came to their rescue with cans of Fancy Feast for a job well-done.

Until next time…

It was the end of the summer of 2009, and Mom and Dad recently moved from an apartment into a large house.  Stella and Sophia were already “employed” as Guard Cats since 2005 and 2006, respectively, so they had gotten used to the layout of the apartment, the nooks and crannies where critters could hide, the best catnapping spots, etc. 

So, needless to say, not only was the move a stressful event for them because of the move itself, but more so because the two Guard Cats were going to have a lot more house to cover.  “We’re going to need more help guarding this big house,” Stella said to Sophia.  “I know, but who can we get to help us that we trust?” Sophia pondered as they both began suggesting cats from the neighborhood that may be able to pass muster as a Guard Cat. 

“Maybe we could talk Mom and Dad into hiring us another employee to help guard the Villa?”  Stella reasoned.  Little did Stella and Sophia know that Mom and Dad had just made arrangements to take in a stray cat that was recently abandoned with no home.  Two days later, Mom and Dad brought the new cat to their new home. 

Of course, Stella and Sophia, in their usual manner of thinking of themselves as Guard Cats and not ordinary house cats, immediately felt relief and surprise when they saw Mom and Dad not with a new pet, but rather with the new “employee.”  Stella and Sophia had a quick discussion among themselves and walked toward the newbie to begin his Guard Cat orientation. 

“Okay…now that you’ve been hired to work here, your job is to assist us in guarding the Villa…you got that,” Stella said the new cat.  “What we say goes,” Sophia said as she attempted to assert authority early in the relationship with him.  “Sounds good to me,” the new cat replied, “but I’m going to bed first…I had a long ride in the car, and I’m tired,” he explained.  Stella and Sophia looked stunned as their supposed new colleague seemed to dismiss their attempts to begin his training. 

“I wonder what his name is,” Sophia questioned just as Mom and Dad walked into the room to check on how the three cats were getting along.  “So, what do you think of your new brother?” Mom asked Stella and Sophia.  “That’s his name– Brother?” Sophia thought to herself.  “At least it should be easy to remember,” she said as she also chose to take a catnap. 

“Let him sleep for now, but when he wakes up, we’re going to show him how to patrol the kitchen counters, dining room table, and under the beds,” Stella instructed.

And so there it is…how Brother joined the Guard Cats.  And, it wasn’t too long after his arrival that he had to get right to work.

Until next time…

Stella and Sophia heard Brother’s calls for help, and quickly dashed toward the bathroom to see what was there.  “Look! Look! Another cat in our Villa! We need to get him out of here before Mom and Dad get home,” Brother insisted to Stella and Sophia as he was positive he saw another cat.  “Where?!” Stella meowed as she looked around but saw no other cat.  Brother continued, “I just saw it…keep looking, we’ll find it!”  So, Stella, Sophia and Brother scoped out the entire bathroom looking for this other cat.  They checked the sink area. 

They looked in bathtub.  They even scoured the toilet. 

Yet, they found no signs of another cat.  “Brother!? There is no other cat in this bathroom,” Stella shouted.  “The only cats in here are us!  Show us exactly where you saw the other cat,” Sophia asked Brother.  “Okay…it was right over here by the….Oh boy, there it is again!” Brother exclaimed as he stood on the counter near the sink.  “There it is! There it is!” Brother continued to shout as he was happy to prove he wasn’t making things up. 

“You nitwit,” Stella and Sophia said almost simultaneously to Brother.  “That’s not another cat! That’s your reflection in the mirror!”  Brother stood silent for a few seconds before he realized that the “other cat” copied his every move.  “I thought this was a window, and not a mirror,” Brother used as his excuse for causing unneeded commotion. 

“Just for that,” Stella instructed, “you’re delegated to bathroom guard duty for the rest of the afternoon!”  And with that, Stella and Sophia walked back out to finish their lunches, while Brother remained at his newly assigned bathroom command post.  Of course, in typical Brother fashion, he quickly made the best of his situation, and found a nice, cozy place to nap while isolated to the bathroom. 

“At least he’s being more safe than sorry by alerting us to possible intruders,” Sophia said to Stella on the way back out to the kitchen.  “I know,” Stella added, “but we need to save up our energy for real situations.”  Little did the Guard Cats know that they would be facing a real situation in the very near future.

Until next time…