Miss Kitty in the Dryer

This morning a household tragedy was avoided. When I went to the basement to get my chore coat and boots on, I noticed the clothes dryer door was open. I figured Husband had opened it to retrieve his chore sweatshirt which I had thrown in with a load of towels last evening. Figuring the towels might still be a bit damp, I started to close the door so I could start the dryer. At the last second I happened to reach in to feel the towels, and felt something furry. It was our darling little housecat, Miss Kitty, asleep on the towels! Oh, my. How awful if I would have just shut the door, started the dryer, and headed out to the barn! Later, in the barn, I teasingly asked Husband if he had been hired by one of our dogs to bump off Miss Kitty, by staging a freak accident!

Until a few months ago, I had always been very much opposed to animals living in the house, so we had never had a housecat. But then one morning late last summer, there was a faint mewing sound in a shrub near the house. There I found a tiny, adorable, abandoned kitten; probably born to one of our wild barn cats. I couldn't bring myself to not take care of her, so she became a member of our household, and was given the very original name of "Miss Kitty". We all love her. A shallow plastic tote down in the basement is her litter box, which she figured out right away. Maybe all cats are that smart, I don't know. Miss Kitty is sitting on my lap right now, purring, as I type at the keyboard, and listen to James Taylor's CD "October Road".