Christmas Cats: A Literary Companion

Christine Church

December 24th was always a special night for the Fergusons. The Christmas tree glistened in splendor, glass bulbs of various colors twinkled, multi-colored lights bounced from the shining surface of the glass ornaments. And lambent light from the silver tinsel created a rainbow for the eyes as the tinsel hung in excess from each branch.

It was all so magnificent and beautiful to behold. And quite enticing, particularly for the Ferguson's cat, Missy, a short-haired brown tabby born, it seemed, with a twinkle of mischief in her eye. All that movement, all that intrigue. She reached a paw toward an especially low-hanging bulb. "Missy!"

Missy replaced her paw to the ground and turned her head. She understood her name, and when spoken in such a manner, she knew that meant to stop whatever she was doing, or risk getting hit with the water sprayer. With a yawn and a sigh, Missy rested beneath the tree instead and napped, dreaming of those enticing wonders above her.

When she awoke, her people were gone. The house was dark. They had gone out for the evening. Light from a street lamp shone in and illuminated a bulb on the tree. It appeared to twirl and circle. No one home. No one to say "no."

The cat reached a paw and sent the shiny ball spinning. Another bat and it swung back and forth, back and forth.

But on the third good swing, something unexpected happened. The ball flew from the tree and made a loud noise on the hard wood floor, crashing, smashing into pieces.

The pieces twinkled, but didn't move. Curious, Missy sought them out, trying to play with one, but the pain in her paw made this no longer a fun endeavor.

She licked the small cut and returned to the tree. So many more interesting sights! Long thin silver strands hung from each branch.

Pulling' them from the tree was simple. What more could a kitten want? Long and stringy and shiny!

Hours later, the Fergusons arrived back home. Mrs. Ferguson gasped as she turned on the den lights to find a disaster. The tree was torn apart; tinsel littered the floor, broken balls and ornaments everywhere. She yelled for Missy, but the cat did not come. The family started a search.

Eventually she was found curled under a spare room bed. She did not look comfortable at all. As a matter of fact, their little cat appeared quite ill. A rush to the vet and X-rays revealed she had ingested several strands of tinsel and some stringed popcorn, which had wadded in her stomach and wrapped around her intestines. She would need surgery.

The next few days were touch and go, but the Fergusons, and Missy, were lucky. The kitten recovered fully, and her family learned a valuable lesson; be careful with holiday ornaments around a curious kitten.