It's a Team's Life

Switch Blades and Stilettos

Over the years we have had many puppies but none of the puppies have damaged us as much as one small kitten has.

Squeaky has hidden switchblades and we never know when they will be used. Usually his feet are very soft and gentle and then WHAM out come the switchblades and he is off and running. When he first joined us in the truck his accuracy with the switchblades was very low and we suffered greatly for this as he often missed the toy he was aiming for and we ended up with scratches. Sometimes it looked as if we had walked through a thorny bush.

As Squeaky has aged his use of the hidden switchblades had became much more accurate and we are scratched less often. He though is still fascinated by us winding up a cord (he attacks the cord immediately) and this is with the switchblades OUT, and he likes plastic bags. I keep my sewing in large Baggies and he loves to attack the bag and then stick his head inside to see what all I have in there. It is a full-blown war to get him to back off and let me get my sewing out of the bag while he is in attack mode. Once the bag is closed he likes to lie on it. Why do cats like to lie on top of things?

When he is in his bat shit crazy mode as I call it his tail is not even safe. He is at full tilt and one day he will be able to run around the walls of the sleeper when he gets into this mode. Usually this activity lasts about two minutes but it is two minutes of hilarious movements on his part. He runs full blast from the front of the truck to the back of the truck all the while batting at his toys as he goes by and then he falls to the ground attacking one of the toys or his tail. He sometimes sounds like a herd of thundering horses as he goes across the wooden floor. We have learned to stand back and let him be crazy.

While the truck is in motion he very seldom plays and if he does it is with one of his little balls that has a bell in it. He most often is asleep when the truck is going down the road. We had no idea that cats sleep as much as they do. He has also learned that while we are going down the road the dash is off limits but as soon as the engine is shut off he is usually on the dash looking to see where we are.

Now for those darn stilettos... Even as a kitten at less then two pounds when he would use our body at night as a bridge each of his steps felt as if he was wearing high heels. He gets great joy running from one side of the truck to other side on his human bridges. Now that he is over six pounds his stilettos feel as if they have gotten even pointier.

Luckily as he is aging his sleep patterns are matching our sleep patterns. He though has an internal clock and when he knows it is about time for me to get up he starts getting restless. Once Squeaker knows that I am awake he curls up next to me so that I can easily pet him. It is a nice way to wake up with a cat purring next to my ear as I start the day. After I get up, make my coffee, and move to the front of the truck to work he will get back in bed to curl up next to Bob till he wakes up.

As the days go on we are becoming something I never thought we would be: Cat People!

Bob & Linda Caffee
TeamCaffee
Saint Louis MO
Expediters since January 2005
[email protected]

Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle;
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