CONTEST: Scooter McTabby's Case Files

Scooter McTabby's Case Files

Updated: January 29, 2007

Number of Open Files: 8

Money to be Donated:

• Cat Blogging Friends Fund: $16.00
• NASAP: $16.00
• SNAP: $16.00

Current Case Backlog:

• The Tale of The Unattainable Temptations (Dolce)


• The Case of the Mistaken Meezer (Magoo)


• The Secret of the Haunted Hairball (Cheysuli)


• The Mystery of the Missing Furry Mice. (Munchkin, Missy and Monte)


• The Mystery of the Nipped Nip.(Midnight)


• The Case of the Purloined Paw Print (DEBRA)


• The Case of the Menacing Meow? (Cocoa)


• The Case of the Headless Cricket (Orlando's)


• Your suggestion here!

Pee ess: Some of the suggestions have been quite violent. Remeber more Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, less Mack Bolan and Robert Ludlum.

*** Bumped to top of the blog ***

Sock Hamper Chat

Under the cover of night, two troublemaking cats meet. One to purvey wisdom and knowledge. One to learn mischief and stuff.

Baci: Ouch! Dolce!
Dolce(pouncing on Baci): Don't be such a wuss.
Baci(rolling onto his back): You play too rough!
Dolce: No, I don't.
Baci: Yes you do.
Dolce: If Dad knew what a wimp you are, he send you right back.
Baci(swatting at Dolce's outstretched paw): No, He wouldn't.
Dolce(Batting at Baci's head with her paw): Yes he would.
Baci(springing to his paws): You take that back!
Dolce: Baci's going away! Baci's going away!
Baci (pouncing on Dolce): Stop saying that!
Dolce(rolling onto her back): You play too rough!
Baci: No, I don't.
Dolce: Yes you do.
Baci: If Dad knew what a wimp you are, he send you right back.
Dolce(swatting at Baci's outstretched paw): No, He wouldn't.
Baci(Batting at Dolce's head with his paw): Yes he would.
Dolce(springing to her paws): You take that back!
Baci: Dolce's going away! Dolce's going away!
Dolce (pouts and turns away): I'm not playing anymore.
Baci: I'm sorry.
Dolce: Good. (Gives Baci a swat to the head and takes off down the hallway.)
Baci: DOLCE! (Takes off after Dolce.)

Baci (sees Dolce looking at a mesh laundry hamper): What are you doing?
Dolce: Baci. I know you are young so I am going to teach you about one of the greatest things in the house.
Baci: Is is better than Catmilk? Better than Stinky Goodness? Better than fuzzy mice? (pauses and takes a deep breath) Better than even Catnip?
Dolce: Depending on how fresh they are, they can be better than Catnip. I know it is hard to believe. But it's true.
Baci: I think you are just teasing me.
Dolce: No. I'm being totally serious. I swear on the Fuzzy Mice.
Baci (watches Dolce jump into the hamper and come out with a sock): What is that?
Dolce: This is one of Dad's socks. (she sniffs it.) And it's a good one. Mom hasn't done his wash from his last Busy Ness trip. Smell it.
Baci: Ewww! That's gross!
Dolce watches Baci as his expression changes.
Baci (sniffs the sock even more): But it's somewhat alluring. Almost intoxicating. Makes my paws all twitchy.
Dolce: Exactly. Magoo, Bella and Smudge thought I was crazy. But these socks are the bestest thing ever. You have to be careful though. Sometimes, if you wait too long, Mom makes them smell all clean and flowery.
Baci(rolling around and over the dirty sock): Why would she do such a thing? It's purrfect the way it is.
Dolce: I know, Baci. Who can figure out Beans? I don't want to scare you, but have you ever see them wash themselves? I've been here over a year and I have not seen Dad or Mom lick themselves clean once. (Dolce shivers) It's just gross, I tell you.
Dolce watches Baci play with the sock.
Dolce: No. No. No. You are doing it wrong. Let me show you.

Dolce digs another sock out of the hamper. She tosses it into the air and pounces on it. She picks it up with paws and waves and twists it in the air in front of her.


Dolce: See. You have fling it and twist it and shake it really hard.
Baci (imitates his sister): Like this.
Dolce: Yes! Just like that! Now you also have to tell the sock who's boss. Otherwise, the Socks won't play with you properly. So you have to yell at it. Like so... YEeOoWwRrOoOoOoWwRrRr! RrOoWwWwRr! MmEeEeEeEeRrRrRrOoOoOoOoWw!
Baci: Oh. yeowrowr. rowr. meerrow.
Dolce: Right idea. But your tone is off and you are being too nice to the Sock. You need to pounce and tug and growl and show the Sock that it is powerless before you. YyEeEeRrRrRrOoOoOoWwWwRr! MmEeEeEeRrRrOoOoOoOoWwWwRr!
Baci: Got it! Yeerroowr! Meerroowr!
Dolce: You're getting there. You just need to practise.
Baci (headbuting Dolce gently): You are the bestest sister ever.
Dolce: I know. (Gives Baci a swat to the head and takes off down the hallway.)
Baci: DOLCE!

Scooter McTabby's Detective Agency: Active Case File 1.2

Case No. 1: The Tale of the Unattainable Temptations (Part II)

Scooter lead Whatley and Persephone from the Sunroom to kitchen where the Lesser Pantry was located. Several of the other cats tried to follow, as they were very concerned about the missing Temptations. Scooter told the other cats to remain in the Sunroom until he and Whatley had processed the crime scene. He had heard that from the television from something called CSI. Scooter thought the Corgis would soon think twice about making fun of the cats as they watched television. Scooter paused and wondered if the Beans would worry if they knew his favourite show was Mythbusters.

Scooter looked around the base of the Lesser Pantry. He sniffed and tasted the air. There was no sign or taste of any Temptations on the floor or on the front of the Lesser Pantry doors. Scooter had a twinge that he was missing something. He looked down at his paws. That was it.

“You could never hold a magnifying glass. Scooter.” Whatley said as she moved closer so that Persephone could not hear. “You’re not a Poly-Toes.”

“If only my old friend, Harper Caturday, was here.” Scooter mused softly, “There is a cat that can hold a magnifying glass. Oh well. We shall have to use our noses, tongues, and our ears instead.”

“I don’t have to lick the floor do I?” Whatley grimaced. “Since Mom Bean has the Icks, the floor hasn’t been washed for several days.”

“As my sidekick.” Scooter instructed. ‘I do believe it is your job to process the evidence and present it to me as the Lead Investigator.”

“Well.” Whatley steeled herself and looked Scooter directly in the eye. “As the Lead Investigator, it is your job to provide your sidekick with a suitable outfit. Such as a well trimmed trench coat or such. I checked Skeezix’s Latest List For Fashionable Investigators and he said that a Trench Coat was the absolute minimum for any detective work.”

“Darn.” Scooter murmured to himself. “That will teach me to name drop during an investigation.”

Scooter looked about the base of the Lesser Pantry. Everything appeared to be ordinary. Something caught Scooter’s eye near the bottom hinge.

“Whatley.” Scooter asked his assistant for confirmation. “What is that hanging from the hinge of the Lesser Pantry?”

Whatley looked closely at the evidence that had caught Scooter’s eye.

“It’s a long piece of fur.” Whatley looked even closer. “Definitely cat and definitely long haired.”

“My Dear, Whatley.” Scooter declared. “We have just eliminated half the household. The perpetrator is one of the long haired cats.”

“Now what do we do?” Whately asked quickly. She was finding this detective assistant work very exciting.

“Now, we try to catch the thief in their own lies.” Scooter advised.

A furriend has a new blog

A long time ago, a friend asked us to take of her cat. Ceili was a lovely little girl who decided that as a person I wasn't all that bad.

Ceili

Well, Ceili's person has been reading all about the adventures of our foursome. She's laughed at Dolce's antics, and she's cried at Smudge's health problems. In the end, she was inspired to create a blog for Ceili. So please go and visit Ceili and her purrson at Vancouver's Yeowtown.

On another note, our soldier, Magoo, is showing his age. He went for a bit of a tumble on Thursday night. When he came in from outside, he had a large cut on his nose. I told my wife that probably he slipped and banged it on the deck, since the deck is quite covered with snow. She agredd that he probably had slipped. I told to check him out and see if he has hurt anything else. Well a short time later, I got another frantic call from my wife. Magoo was limping on three legs and was favouring his right paw. My wife took him into the V-E-T to get it looked at. The V-E-T said that she was sure it was just a sprain, but they could take x-rays later to verify if the anti-imflammatories did not work. My wife said to do the x-ray now as opposed to having to bring him back.

Magoo is now officially a medical wonder. The V-E-T says that she has never seen such an advanced case of osteo-arthritis in a cat. She says that his x-rays look more like a dog's. She was shocked because she said that without the x-rays she would have never assumed that Magoo was suffering since he was hiding it so well. She gave him some drugs for his arthritis and his sprain and said to let her know how they fared for him. It looks like my boy will be on some sort of pain management regime for the rest of his life. You would never know to look at him. But then again, he is my soldier, and Soldiers do not make a fuss when they are suffering.

Weekend Update

First things first:

Dad decided that I was too important to become a second class citizen on my old blog. He thought it would be a great idea to put my Sunday Smudge Update posts over on the House Panthers blog. It makes sense to me since I am not part of the Four anymore but I am still and always will be a House Panther. So come visit.

Smudge (House Panther Forever)


Dolce avoids the snowy deck.

Docle and Baci are becoming fast friends. She will still hiss at him if he comes too close when she doesn't want him to, but I saw Baci walk up to her and lick her on the forehead. Then there was the game of Chase that was held on Friday night. They took turns being the Chasee and the Chasor. We saw Dolce jump up in the air and try to spook Baci. It was quite funny to see her two feet in the air with all her paws spread out and Baci sudednly taken aback and trying to make himself as big and poofy as possible. This happened two more times. We brought Baci home in hopes that he and Dolce would play together. So far they have exceeded our expectations. There will still be some adjustments to be made, but so far there has not been one single fight.

Last night, Magoo and Baci slept on the bed within a couple feet of each other with very little growling or hissing. So there is hope on that front too.

Bella still gives Baci a fair bit of space, but then that is just her nature. She is fiercely independant. I am sure she would have been perfectly happy as a single cat.

As for Baci, he has been very busy wrapping my wife around his no-so-little paw. Then again, she has always been a sucker for a handsome man with bright blues eyes. The more we look at Baci, the more we think his Rescue Lady was trying to keep him. I remember reading one of Jasper McKittenCat's posts about Huggy Bear. At a certain point, some fosters just accept the inevitable and adopt that last forlorn kitten into their household. That has to be what Baci's Rescue Lady wanted to have happen with him. When you look into his baby blues and listen to his little cry, he just melts your heart. I find it very hard to believe that some did not want to snap him up as a kitten. If he is this cute now, he would have been an absolute heartbreaker at 8 weeks and 12 weeks.

My wife tells me that when I am not home the cats all sleep on my side of the bed. So there is some sort of community that has been re-established amongst the cats of our household. Unfortunately, I am now the unwanted interloper. I will have to say good-bye again and only be able to hear my furriends over the phone for another week. I told Baci that he shouldn't grow up anymore on me, because I didn't want to miss anymore of his kittenhood. He just gave one of his cries, started purred and then flopped over in my lap.

There is a God. I am holding proof of it right now in my lap.

Frolicking Feline Friday

Since there are no days in the English language that start with an "A" for Action, my trusty thesaurus indicated that the word "frolic" would suffice.

So I give you, Baci on "Frolicking Feline Friday".


Baci is turning into a real Man-Cat-In-Waiting. At five months, he is nearly the size of Dolce. Of course a lot of that is fur right now, but every indication is that he is going to turn into a big gund bear like his brother Magoo.

We have found out that Baci is also a Talker like his sister Dolce. It must be the Himalayan in him. He walks into a room and begins giving everyone heck. It is hard to take his wee little voice serious though. But he does love to be cuddled and his purrer is in fine shape.

The other cats have started to accept him more. Magoo stills hisses and growls, but then that's what he does best. He hisses and growls at us if we don't move fast enough for him to get comfortable on the bed or to let him out onto his deck. Bella does not know what to think of him. She hasn't been hissing at Baci, but she is still giving him a wide berth. That just leaves us with Miss Dolce.

Dolce still hisses a little bit at Baci, but it is all for show. She has let him touch noses with her several times that I have been privy to witness. Also, as I write this, Baci and her are busy chasing each other up and down the hallway. It looks like they will be very good playmates for each other. This was something we really wanted, since Dolce seemed to have too much spunk for either Bella or Magoo.

I have to go now, someone has just shown up and is demanding attention.