Tonight I witnessed a Rite of Passage (not sad)

[badgerpup]

I go to a local health food store to get my herbs and spices as well as supplements, and as I was running low on catnip (oh horrors!) I figured I'd best restock that as well.
Things get...tense...when we run out of catnip...:hide:

Anyway, they sell products in bulk. This means everything is MUCH less expensive, fresher, and you only have to buy as much...or as little as you want. :thumbsup:

You package it yourself, which means you put your herb/spice into a little plastic baggie, label it with the price per pound for the cashier (and what it IS, for yourself, if you're buying a lot of things that are primarily 'green' and 'crumbly leaves'). This is how you pay for and transport it. You can also bring whatever container you're currently using for the spice-in-question, have them tare the weight of it out and use that (but I tend to restock a lot of stuff all at the same time, it's easier for me to just use the baggies).

So ...I get home. I've finished my Christmas shopping and I...am...EXHAUSTED. It's about nap-thirty and I wipe out in the recliner before putting anything away. I do put the stuff with the spices (and catnip!) up on the kitchen counter before collapsing...figure it will be safe there for a little while. D'Artagnan is the only one who gets up on the counter (and gets squirted when I catch him), but he's never reacted to the catnip when I've put it down for everybody. Should be OK for just a few minutezzzzz....:boring:.

In my sleep, I hear *rattle..rattle...crackle...crackle*.

What is the sound of one plastic bag being shredded? :wtf:

I come out of my snooze FAST, remembering the catnip on the kitchen counter. If Riktor has caught a whiff of it, all bets are off. You do NOT get between Riktor and his catnip- he uses claws.

Into the kitchen, and sure enough, they've got the baggie of catnip on the floor, and D'Artagnan has ripped a hole in it.
There's been a bit of leakage, enough to scatter a thin layer of catnip over about a square foot of the floor. Riktor is right there...
but so is D'Artagnan...and he IS EATING THE CATNIP. :wow:

D'Artagnan has never reacted to catnip before. When I put it down, he'd sniff at it, and watch as the other cats would sniff, eat, roll, see pretty colors, and become playful, but his enjoyment of it consisted of FOUR cats that then wanted to play with him.
I figured he was either A). Too young, or B). One of those rare cats who lacks the 'catnip' gene and doesn't have the necessary neural receptors to enjoy catnip properly (my MacFeegle was one of these poor deprived kitties).
Now I know he is C). None of the above.

All the cats are in the kitchen by now.
They sit in almost a circle, and they are watching D'Artagnan as he rolls, squirms, and swims in a circle while lying on his side in the throes of his very first catnip high. "Yes, I remember my first time too." There's an almost ritualistic feel to it; the way they're sitting, the expressions on their faces, and they're not trying to get into the catnip scattered on the floor.
This is D'Artagnan's 'trip', it's his rite of passage into the next phase of Being A Cat. Chronologically, he's still a kitten (8 months old), and he's still got quite a bit of growing to do, but he passed an important milestone tonight.

My Little Boy Baby Kitty is growing up so fast...(sniff)

[Paper Roses]

1. Great description. As I read, I could visualized this event.

One of those times when you don't know whether to stop the party or just watch and laugh.

Our old kitty never jumped on the counter but once, when I was occupied the same as you, I awoke to a real mess. I had baked a 2 layer vanilla cake. The layers were cooling on racks on the counter. When I woke from my short snooze and went to the kitchen, what a mess. One on the layers was on the floor broken into chunks and crumbs, the one still on the counter had little nibbles all over it.

I cannot figure what prompted it, she must have needed a sweet "fix". Kitty was nowhere to be seen.
It was funny as heck but never happened again.

So much for that birthday cake, I went to the bake shop at the grocery store and bought one. Good thing I had not made frosting you.

[Vinca]

2. What a great post - I can see it all happening.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. You saw a Cat Mitzvah ceremony.

Now he is a cat.

[emilyg]

4. I hid a bag of catnip in

my undie drawer - they figured out how to get it.

[elleng]

5. Thanks for that!

Have to check my sock drawer.

. . . . OOPS! No cats here!

[MadMaddie]

6. I am a dog person but I always enjoy cat stories!!

They are all rascals!!!

:thumbsup:

[yellerpup]

7. Sweet!

What a beautiful story to share. Thanks!