Ask Noodles: Kitten Trouble

A Note from Max:

Hi: Noodles isn't able to tweet today because he's staying with us while his food humans are out of town. Her Highness won't let him on the computer. But, I'll let him know about your comments and he'll be back home in a couple days, so you can leave comments on the blog and he'll be glad to respond when he can.

Also, he's in need of question for future columns, so please send your questions in an email to Noodles at thegreatnoodles@gmail.com. Enjoy his column....


Dear Noodles,

The house next door to me got 2 kittens earlier this year, and they are pests! They come into my garden, lie in my favorite napping spots and even come into my house if the hoomans leave a door open! Now, I'm a pretty laid-back cat, so I try to get on with them - but Noodles, I'm worried that they'll try to move in with my hoomans and then where will I be? I don't want to get vicious because they're not bad kids, but what can I do to show them that there's only room for one cat in this house?

Purrs,

Morris (@morriscat)

Morris, it seems you have a classic case of “Nermal V. Garfield” happening. See article, “Nermal” in the Wikia (Entertainment) website: http://garfield.wikia.com/wiki/Nermal .

I quote:

“Nermal is the cute gray kitten who flaunts his cuteness (the cutest kitten in the world, he says), which annoys Garfield immensely, he also has a very sarcastic attitude, usually resulting in Garfield trying to ship Nermal to Abu Dhabi. Often comes in unannounced, much to Garfield's chagrin, particularly by waking him up…”

Sound familiar? While this “Nermal” situation is a nuisance, no doubt about it, take it in stride. If I’ve learned anything from the Garfield Sunday morning funnies and Saturday morning cartoons, it’s that while Nermal is adorable (as are these squeaky new kittens likely to be), the long term affections and friendship between Garfield (the striped orange cat) and his owner has created a very strong bond.

Additionally, while kittens are cute and able to win over the affections of food humans, they are neither clever enough, nor do they have as fully developed and charming personality as those of us who have “been around for a while” do. And that is a huge advantage. We know where to be and when to be for ear rubbings, we know how to whine just right to get what we want, and we know that while kittens are cute, they’re a lot more trouble than a well-seasoned adult feline.

Try to resist the urge to stomp these new kittens and also try not to ship them off to Abu Dhabi, as their food humans will likely tell your food humans that something is amiss and then you’ll be in real hot water.

Instead, be the amazing feline that you are. Purr louder than you have ever before, rub on your owner’s legs to tell them they’re yours, and by all means, adopt a kitten-like “mew” to gain some of that kitten affection for yourself. I’ve done it, and I’m not ashamed to say I stole my sister’s cute “mew” because it got her so much attention! And you know what? It works every time!

Good luck Morris, keep us posted on your progress!

All good things,

Noodles