Stories of the Moose

I Pooped!

Lookie what I did! Just wait till the smell hits. 

Moose was rather chatty. She made all sorts of odd purrs, murgles, chuffs, and coos. When she hopped down the stairs, she'd punctuate each step with a short murr. When she wanted my attention, she gave me the traditional meow.

But when she wanted to announce to everyone within earshot that her litterbox escapades had been a complete and unqualified success, she resounded with a proud "I Pooped!" Much quieter than a yell, but more than a meow, she wanted to ensure we all knew just how proud she was at what she had left in the box for me to scoop later. She was probably 15 or 16 years old by now (around 2002) so what would be a trivial event for us was a minor victory for her.

Now, most cats like to scratch around in the litter and cover things up. Moose was no different in that respect, except that she scratched everything but the litter and nothing was covered up. The proud meowl was not so much an announcement, but more of a warning: "Just wait till you smell what I left in the box for you."

My girlfriend at the time and I would be sitting in the living room watching TV when Moose would hop off the couch and shuffle over to the bathroom. "Oh no," we thought. We would hear all sorts of horrible noises emanating from the bathroom--some from one end of the Moose, some from the other. With each report, we'd wince and gasp knowing what was about to waft our ways. The symphony of stink would end with Moose appearing in the hallway and making her pronouncement: "I Pooped!"

That was my cue to get off the comfy couch and take care of the litter before we all passed out.