Carolyn Holm

Hey Mom,
I totally don’t understand Puffin’s game. 
Winston

Dear Winston,
That’s ok honey, it’s very different from your kind of play. You don’t even understand how to play with the feather wand.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
His game has so many rules!
Winston

Dear Winston,
He does have a few.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
He loves rules!
Winston

Dear Winston,
He likes structure in his life.
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
He has special spots. There’s a special spot for each thing he does.
Winston

Dear Winston
Ah, that. Dad and I call that being site specific. Well, you do a little bit of that. Your affection tends to be very site specific. The only time you get on my lap is when I sit at my desk, or sit on the sofa.
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
Those are good snuggle spots!!!!
Winston

Dear Winston,
They are. It’s just interesting that you don’t get on my lap anywhere else. So maybe you have as many rules as Puffin does.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
No! He’s nuts! His evening game with you has so many rules. Where to catch the prey, exactly where to take it. And he has a special song to chant when he’s caught that thing.
Winston

Dear Winston,
That’s where it’s been getting difficult. Once he’s caught the prey he won’t drop it. He has jaws of steel holding on to that thing, yelling his song. We end up having a huge argument every time. That’s no fun!
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
He’s the stubbornest cat EVER. 
Winston

Dear Winston,
Last night I tried something new – I offered him a treat in exchange for the prey, so he would drop it and we could continue the game. He got completely distracted by that. I made the mistake of giving him one of his breakfast kibbles, so he stopped everything to go check his feeder. My idea completely backfired. We’ll see what happens tonight.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
I have a better game!!!!! We never argue!!!!! I knock over all the pillows, crawl under them, and peer out at you! 
Winston

Dear Winston,
And when I spot you, you burst out from under the cushions and race out of the room.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Yes!!!!!! Puffin has his game and I have mine!!!!! 
Winston

Dear Winston,
You do! You may not know what to do with the feather wand, but you sure know what to do with pillows. You also have the Lightening Strike game. Where you whack Puffin and run like crazy.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
He doesn’t like that at all. 
Winston

Dear Winston,
He’s used to being the bully. Throwing his weight around. And not just at you. He did that with Mia too. 
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
He thinks it’s a big deal to be the Senior Cat. So it’s really fun to hit him with a Lightening Strike.
Winston

Dear Winston,
Interesting, because for all your differences, lately at night you two have been very chummy. I know where you go at night. You are sleeping side-by-side, in the living room.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
How do you know that?????
Winston

Dear Winston,
I know everything. So what about me? I like to have a cat with me at night! 
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
We come to you at five, sometimes six in the morning! You are our site specific place for morning love!
Winston

Dear Winston,
That’s sweet, but that’s morning. I miss you two at night. I miss you the way I do when I travel away from home, and there is no weight of a cat sleeping on me.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Then you shouldn’t go away!!!
Winston 

Dear Winston,
Sometimes it’s inevitable. A friend and I were talking about this, and we invented a great travel accessory. It would be a ten pound bean-bag plush animal with a heating pad inside. Sort of a travel cat. 
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
That just sounds creepy. It would be easier if you just stayed home. 
Winston

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A note to our readers…

Poppy, Winston, and Puffin are looking forward to sharing their weekly correspondence with you! Each week one of them is featured here, all based upon actual conversations. And yes, you can get the week’s post conveniently in your email every Friday by subscribing in the subscriber box at the top of this page. (If you are reading this in an email, go to blog.carolynholm.com to subscribe.) If you have already subscribed, multiple paws are raised to salute you!