The Joys of a Kitten at Christmas

If you aren't a cat lover, then today's blog might not be your favorite, but if you are mischievous at heart, you might enjoy it. I guess you'll have to read to decide which end of the spectrum you lean towards. 

Here's the deal, Naomi was a birthday gift for our daughter from wonderful friends and us. They gifted the kitten, we allowed her in to the house. It didn't take long before we all fell in love with her and her orange streaks. I should of known, a "red-head" is always spunky. I should know after all.

This past weekend we brought the Christmas decorations down from the attic. With my husband working crazy hours the next couple weeks, I had this brilliant idea to just take everything out of the containers, pile it on the tables, and then work on decorating throughout this week. Well, Miss Naomi, had other ideas.

Once she saw the piles of glittering, sparkling, and shiny objects...a kitten's playground was created. Instead of relaxing on Sunday afternoon and evening, we decorated. Decoration Central was not by choice but instead, necessity. We came home from church Sunday morning to see Naomi's head peeking out from under the pile of Christmas sweaters, sweatshirts, and table cloths. I had to wash them again. She didn't greet us at the door, only peered out to say, "Yeah, I'm in this pile of goodies, what'cha going to do about it?" before pulling her head back underneath the abyss of Christmas cotton.

This was the moment we decided, it was decoration day. My husband, Ed, being wise, joined his buddies to watch football, escaping the adventure of decorating quicker than the kitten could pounce, play, and tackle. Ornaments, bells, and holiday stuffed animals eventually found homes around the house. Some even had the luxury of being dropped to the floor and then dragged across the floor. Once in the center of the floor, they were left...to wait.

I couldn't figure out what Miss Naomi was up to until she crouched across the top of the couch, prowled her way to the arm and then POUNCE! Poor Christmas mouse didn't know what hit it. If Toy Story is true, and stuffed animals are alive when we aren't in the room, I'd have to be the kitten after we left the room. But since Miss Naomi wasn't decorated with Christmas lights, the Disney movie really is fictional. 

One of my daughters favorite things to do is set up the manger and organize the stuffed animals. Let's just say that her "everything has its spot" set-up, was disturbed over and over again as her precious kitten, Naomi, helped her arrange and rearrange. I, on the other hand, was very thankful because I was able to get the rest of the house decorated.

Until...

Until it was time to put up our tree and all it's tantalizing treats dangling from its branches. Oh boy, we knew it wasn't going to be a quick process but we never expected the journey since decoration day.

We have multiple pictures of Miss Naomi climbing the trunk, perched on the branches within, and sleeping under the Christmas tree. Yesterday though, she won the prize for disturbing the magic of Christmas. 

Must be one of the glimmering ornaments moved ever so teasingly as the fan moved it because out of no where, Miss Naomi ran across the room and leaped upon the Christmas tree to attack and take it captive. UGH!

Do you see where this is going? Oh yeah, thank goodness it's only four feet tall because the tree, cat, and all it's ornaments toppled to the floor with a BANG! Mary startled awake from her morning nap and I sprung from my computer to see what happened.

"Stella" kitty photos taken by Victoria Ross. Thank you Victoria for letting me share your kitty today.

Meet "Stella" - 
a Facebook friend's kitty, who appears to be exhibiting similar Christmas mischief as our Naomi. 
Who needs Elf on the Shelf when a cat's in the house? 
Not us...how about you?

"Stella" kitty photos taken by Victoria Ross. Thank you Victoria for letting me share your kitty today.

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Miss Naomi simply peered from within the branches, rolled on to her belly, and started playing with one of the few ornaments that remained on the branches. Since it was nearing time to leave for work, I placed the tree back on the table and tucked the ornaments in the box under the tree. Mary laughed as she got ready for school, saying, "It is going to be a long few weeks until Christmas." I didn't see her humor at the moment but decided to roll with it because I have my moments of distraction by sparkling objects, I just don't lunge at the tree.

As if the tree isn't enough excitement, Miss Naomi has now decided to climb our stockings!! Ugh! Life is about choices, we can let the playful and healthy kitty's ambitious playing ruin the mood or teach her "no" and use wisdom to put away some of the shinier objects until next year. 

As post scrolled my home screen on Facebook yesterday I realized I'm not alone. A friend posted a picture of her kitty, Stella, in the Christmas tree. The positive, we aren't alone in our adventure. The negative, Stella looks like a grown up cat, so every year will be this much fun.

What is your favorite Christmas Cat story?