Merry Chase

Hello, its me, Lucy One White.

Its getting to be springtime now, with the plants and animals starting to grow in the outdoors. When I was a younger cat, I liked to play outside a lot. My brother Jules and I did lots of hunting games in our yard, catching good stuff sometimes, like mice and voles, and my personal specialty, snakes.

We also practiced hunting and climbing with the trees and tall grasses. Jules was really good at being a jungle cat in the grass, he was a lot like a panther. I Lucy did a little of that, and I also liked climbing trees. Here is a picture of me in the tree:   It’s a little hard to see me because of the shadows, and that’s important for hunting, its called catmoflage.

I also liked wandering down to the little stream behind my house for a drink. It is pretty fun to go exploring and have a drink. Mama Bets would come to make me come home when I did that, cause she thought it was too far away. But I Lucy knew that I was fine. I was right because I am still here.

As I mentioned before, my brother and I, like most cats, are fierce hunting animals. The best time for hunting is in the between day and night times, Mama Steph says it’s called twilight. Whatever. I Lucy call it Good Hunting Time.

My moms have been very strict about some stuff ever since we came to their house. One of the rules is that cats can’t be outside if its dark time and they can’t go out if there isn’t a mom at home. I Lucy say that this is unfair. Just because Uncle Toto got deaded by something and didn’t come home, we shouldn’t have to suffer. When I was younger, I would play a really good game with my moms about coming back in.  I called it Merry Chase. You might like to play this game, so I will tell you how to do it.

First, when you are outside, if you know its getting time to come in, because your person is calling for you or the light is starting to look like Good Hunting Time, its important to go to one of your secret private places. Take a nap when you get there, so you are well rested when it is game time.

The game begins when your person comes looking for you. You should wait a little while before you show yourself. Then walk out nonchalantly, “oh, were you looking for me?”. Allow your person to approach. When they are a few steps away from you, run away just far enough to make them do some running–this is good for your person’s health. Then sit and rest again, waiting for them to approach. I Lucy used to repeat this several times before I would come in, sometimes going to a private place for a rest during the game, this is called halftime. I found if I waited just the right amount of time, I might get a special food treat like tuna to “lure” me in.

I don’t play merry chase much anymore, as my little bones get tired easily and I need more rest than I used to. Also, my moms are older and so I have to be careful of their health. I need them to do lots of indoor services for me. Now, instead of merry chase, I do the howling game. I Lucy howl and they need to figure out what it is I want. Mama Steph says its a little bit like the twenty questions game she played when she was little, except that I don’t answer with anything but a howl.

For all you younger cats out there, I recommend Merry Chase. Its perfect for this time of year, so try it out and have some fun!