Lassie and the Rescue of the Frozen Food

I got a call from Jeff yesterday, who's been looking in on Daisy while I'm traveling. There's been some feline mischief at the apartment while I've been away. She's really a pretty good cat, not prone to getting in trouble. Sure she likes to jump up ON things she's not supposed to--the table, the counter, the stove, the refrigerator, anything tall and offering a warm perch so she can survey the quiet apartment and plot against her imaginary foes. (Like the evil yoga mat.) Sometimes I find evidence of her jumping up--something is askew on the counter, or the freezer door is ever s0 slightly open when it shouldn't be. When I'm home she rarely attempts such heights, as she knows she'll get scolded.

But the big girl (that would be me) is away, and so I'm sure she feels she can get away with just about anything. "I can jump high and big girl won't know!"

Daisy is pretty self-sufficient, so cat sitters mostly just need to check the tub when I'm away. Daisy plays with her water, so the only reasonable place to leave her something to drink is in the bathtub. I leave her two tupperware containers full of water, and she usually topples one or both of them so she can enjoy the excitement of watching the water go down the drain. Cat sitters keep them filled so she doesn't have to resort to drinking out of the toilet.

Yesterday, Jeff checked the tub and noticed Daisy was unusually affectionate and vocal. She just cried and cried, and he couldn't figure out what she wanted. She walked to the center of the apartment and continued to cry and was lovey-dovey, and he was responding with generous pets but she kept on crying. He was just starting to say to himself, "What is it, girl?" when he noticed the package of (previously) frozen ground turkey on the floor of the kitchen, and the open door of the freezer. As soon as he picked up the package of thawing meat and closed the freezer door, Daisy turned her tail and walked away.

That was it for affectionate behavior towards Jeff. She got her point across, and he's taken to calling her "Lassie."