-- Letter to Our New Family --
( Transcriber ’ s note : The two boys from the group abandoned at the bookshop found their forever home together the last week of July . Being cats raised in a bookshop , they felt the need to write a letter as introduction . The text follows .)
Hi , new family ! We are Maverick and Goose -- two bouncing , active , little boy kitties . We ’ ve had a little more than 3 months in the bookshop with Linda and her family . There are two big cats here , but they ’ re actually pretty friendly , once you get to know them .
We don ’ t remember too much about how we got here . We do remember our sister and she was in the box with us . It was so cold that day and we were so frightened . All we did was scream . We didn ’ t know how to eat , and we didn ’ t know what was going to happen to us . But the bookshop was warm , and after a few days , we really got the hang of how to eat . We eat all the time ! Here , we get wet cat food in the morning . We have kibble and water always available to us . We don ’ t eat a lot at a time , but we stop at the kibble bowl a bunch of times in a day . We have our own little bowl , but the big cats have a large bowl ( We like to eat their kibble !) It ’ s chicken and brown rice . Corn makes Jasper throw up .
We like to play chase and we have caught the red dot ( almost ). We tumble and wrestle and roughhouse with each other . We learned that the people here don ’ t like to play rough , so we try very hard to make sure our claws are retracted , and we do not bite people . But we do like to chew hair - that ’ s fun ! We like to get pets and rubs and picked up a little bit . We have so much energy that we can ’ t do that for very long . But we can play with a laser pointer all day ( please make sure it doesn ' t get in our eyes . That can really hurt !) We ’ re still pretty little , and we love it when you are gentle with us . We hate loud noises like vacuum cleaners and machinery . We will scurry away , and sometimes cry . If you sit on the sofa , we will come up and play around you .
We are used to being around people , and we have been good workers in the bookshop . Hector , the head cat here , taught us to greet customers , and we have learned to get out of the way of people , too . Hector and Jasper taught us about boundaries with other cats , and about treats in the evening . They even chase the red dot with us ( though Jasper will sometimes let us chase it and put his paw on our heads as we zoom by ).
We like to scratch and stretch , and we like to do that vertically . Hector and Jasper like low cardboard scratchers . We like scratching posts better ( and sometimes we try the furniture , so make sure we have a good post rubbed with catnip ). Linda has taught us not to get on the kitchen table and the counters , but we test that every day . Maybe she will change her mind ! She shoos us off . Now all she has to say is NO or DOWN and we both know . She says that Goose is more curious , and Maverick is more stubborn . But she says that we are equally sweet and good boys . We are ready to be part of your lives and we will love you forever .
- by Linda Roller , Bookseller , Writer , & Owner of Liberty Book Shop in beautiful downtown Avis , PA .
LIBERTY BOOK SHOP Linda Roller
Hours : Thursday & Friday 10-6 , Saturday 10-3 , or by appt .
“ Where yesterday ’ s books are today ’ s treasures .”
LibertyBookShop @ comcast . net www . thelibertybookshop . com
570-753-5201
Pawsitively Pets -- September 5