Pookie – Captain Stupidhead – was supposed to be The Last Cat.  If I said it once I said it a bajillion times. But somehow when my son was home for a few months last fall he persuaded us to visit the Maui Humane Society. I’m still wondering how it all happened, but the fact is, Bella is here to stay:

It is really, REALLY hard to get a decent photograph of a black cat, especially one that is almost never still.  And when she is still, she is plotting something –  pouncing on your foot, planning an attack, stealing something off the stamp desk, drowning a catnip mousie in her water bowl. She can be an absolute pain in the…neck.

But she’s also a very social cat, and she likes to hang around even if you’re doing something really boring. Move from one room to the next, and she’ll soon come around the corner. Forget to feed her, or fail to notice that she’s decided she’s hungry, and she’ll be relentless with her complaints and little snagging paws.

Bella is still a kitten, and she does some pretty dopey kitten things. This is a little nook in the kitchen where we stash old newspapers before recycling, and she decided it was a good spot for a nap. She’s asleep in there. Seriously. Look at those legs.

Speaking of legs, she’s also a bit of a kluge, and regularly falls off things. Maybe it’s poor balance, maybe it’s just not knowing where her body is, but there’s a lot of thumping and crashing in the Bella Universe.  She sounds (and from the rear, looks) like a bowling ball when she goes down the stairs. (By the way, this is MY chair.)

Her favorite toy is something called Da Bird, a gift from Sara. It requires a willing fool with an opposable thumb to keep it moving. She will play FOREVER with it and is never still long enough to be more than a blur in a photo. However, watching the lizards on the lanai – through the door –  is a close second. I’m pretty sure she’s going to give herself an NFL-sized concussion one of these days trying to get through that glass door.

What she really loves is to be in the way. Trying to get something done? She’ll hop up behind you in the chair and weasel around to your lap. Walking from one room to the next? Bella will scoot in front of your feet and get them all tangled up, leaving you shouting and stumbling to keep from falling on your face. Putting on shoes? Forget tying those laces – they’re her personal playthings.

And don’t get me started on Bella and ink. She wants to be in the middle of everything, including ink pads. She would be Bella of the Technicolor Coat if she were anything but a black kitten.

Did you want to sit here?

Things will never be the same.

I think we’ll adjust.

By the way, the Maui Humane Society does WONDERFUL work, including their innovative Wings of Aloha program. Please consider supporting them – we do!