Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Rascal's First Christmas

Christmas had an added bonus for my family this year: we got to celebrate it with our 5 month old kitten, Rascal. Named after the guy who dumped my heroine in TOP TEN USES FOR AN UNWORN PROM DRESS, he is arguably the world’s most spoiled kitten. And has definitely caught the holiday spirit.



First born in the litter of a Balinese stray, our frisky kitty has been blazing trails every since. He routinely springs surprise attacks on us, and defends the yard from cats twice his size. Last week he managed to close the bathroom door behind himself, and open a drawer which blocked his exit and our entrance. Before that, he darted into the street and bounced off the wheel of a passing car (which was really scary, and resulted in an overnight at the vet). And let’s not forget the time he ate a bumble bee and his face swelled up.

Rascal is clearly living his nine lives to the fullest, and this Christmas kept us grinning by ripping wrapping paper, diving into Christmas bags, and trying out empty boxes.



Do you have a special pet? And maybe any holidays where they’ve given you and your family a lift, too?

Tina

www.tinaferraro.com
Top Ten Uses for An Unworn Prom Dress, March, 2007
How to Hook a Hottie, Spring 2008

13 comments:

Marley Gibson said...

Hi Rascal!! What a cutie pie! I love pets and everything they mean in our lives.

My sister had Nat and Jo and brought them home one Christmas. I had a cat, Smokey Farquar Penwick Beauregard III (Smokey), and he was NOT happy to have these other cats on his turf. Especially chick cats. They growled at each other and stared each other down.

Mother was at choir practice, my sister over at a friends house and Dad and I were eating dinner in the kitchen. That's when we heard the chase. Smokey had had enough and was chasing Jo and Nat all over the house. We looked into the living room at the Christmas tree and saw a flash of black (Nat) dash under the tree. Then another (Jo) followed by a third (Smokey.)

It was like a Warner Brother's cartoon. There were loud meows, cat calls, the tree shook, ornaments rattled. Dad and I just stood there wondering what to do. Then, the tree start tilting. Jo flew out, then Nat, then Smokey...all bolting the scene of the crime.

Then...tiiiiiiiiiimber.

Dad and I ran into the living room and caught the tree just before it hit the ground. We spent the next hour staightening the lights, putting ornaments back into place and trying to make it look like nothing ever happend (of course Mother figured it out.)

I went looking for the culprits and found them all snuggled together in this pile of black cats in the middle of my bed. Purring happily and very proud of their antics. And suddenly, the best of friends.

Pets are a glorious thing! I hope Rascal brings you many hours of happiness!

Marley = )
http://www.marleygibson.com

Simone Elkeles said...

I have to admit that cats aren't my bag but Rascal is definitely cute.

I'm a dog person...I have two dogs, a german shepherd mix and a labradoodle. If I can attach pics of them one day, I will.

Love animals, they definitely bring joy and happiness into my life!

~Simone Elkeles
www.simoneelkeles.com

stephhale said...

Rascal is adorable and sounds like a real individual. I can't be a cat person b/c I am deathly allergic to them.
We have a Maltese named Lucky. He is about ten pounds overweight b/c the boys are constantly dropping him scraps. He really is the most lovable dog I've ever met. He is so gentle with the boys I couldn't ask for a better dog. He does bark a lot which somedays makes me crazy, but its a small tradeoff for the extra love he fills our home with.
xo,
Steph
www.stephaniehale.com

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Rascal is sure adorable. You already know my pet situation. Thinking of my Angel, still brings tears to my eyes. For now, we have no pets. But there were many holidays when Angel had her own gifts to open and would run around squeaking joy into our household.

Great post.

Janie

TinaFerraro said...

Marley, that's an amazing story...especially how the cats "bonded" from their crime!

Simone & Steph, thanks for sharing about your dogs. I used to be afraid of dogs, but the past 5 years or so I've gotten to know a friend's dog, and it's amazing how that one relationship has opened my eyes and lessened my fear to just normal strange-dog-caution.

And Janie, yes, hugs about Angel! :)

Thank you guys for sharing.

Tina (and Rascal!)

Kelly (Lynn) Parra said...

Yes, Rascal is a definitely a little rascal! =D As you know, we are the turtle family at the moment. The kiddos want a dog, but we need a bigger back yard. It will happen one day!

TinaFerraro said...

Turtles sound like a lot less trouble than rascals like Rascal. And yeah, the dog idea is growing on me, too, Kel!

Tina

Anonymous said...

We have a sixth-month-old female calico kitten named, appropriately enough, Callie. She's cute, she's definitely a "momma's" girl, and she's funny. She also, ever since we put the tree up, has been working hard to drive me insane. :)

We have a fake tree, because pine needles make me sneeze. A lot. And painfully. And since I have two elementary-school age children, trillions of handmade ornaments. And, this Christmas, a cat ornament that would regularly appear on the branches. And fake plastic pine needles that ended, alternately, on the floor, in a hairball, or in the litter box. Not to mention the ornaments strewn throughout the house each morning, usually accompanied by a new chew mark.

Yes, I love my cat, but I'm glad the tree is coming down!!

TinaFerraro said...

Thanks for telling us about Calico, Jen! I had braced myself for ornaments on the ground, but Rascal had a different plan: his idea of fun was climbing the trunk as high as he could, and drinking from the base water (instead of his bowl). And you know, I'll feel relieved when we take the tree down, too.

And allow me to thank you for including PROM DRESS in your Amazon list of upcoming fun books to read. That *was* you, wasn't it? :)

Tina

Anonymous said...

Tina,
Your Rascal looks a lot like my Moxie when she was kitten. The vet told us she'd get darker with age and boy was he right. I'll be interested to see if your little kitty goes dark in a few years.

In addition to Moxie the cat, we have two dogs: Danner the lab and Willow the beautiful mutt. And as of today, we just added the first two fish to the aquarium Santa brought.

Yeah, I'd say my family likes pets all right!

Fun post.

Wendy T

Anonymous said...

We have a tabby named SweetPea and she is a constant source of entertainment for us. We don't decorate around the holidays because there's just the two of us (no children) and it's just so much of a hassle. The last time we had a tree, it was a table-sized tree--and we put it outside after the holidays. Sweetpea thought it was the perfect spot to "do her thang" and she peed on it. LOL. needless to say, we tossed it.

TinaFerraro said...

Wendy, even though Rascal is only 5 months, he's already darkened from snow white to seal. Interesting what your vet said--and I'll keep you posted.

Gemini, LOL about Sweetpea doing her "thang" on your tree...and come to think of it, I'm surprised Rascal didn't do the same. :)

Thanks for sharing.

Tina

Young Adult Authors said...

Rascal is adorable!!