Time passed quickly. Mimi and Grampy visited us in Grey Wolf and exclaimed over how cute the kitten was. At least Mimi didn’t ignore me. She made sure to point out how much bigger I was than the kitten. I always liked her. Little Girl regaled them with the story of his name. I guess I should admit defeat at this point and stop calling him it. Apparently, when they left with the kitten from the campground and were gone all day, they did more than just shop. They took him to a vet, the only one that could fit them in on such short notice, to make sure he was healthy enough to not harm me (other than, you know, him being a cat). This did perk me up a little. Little Girl said that on the way to the vet, they discussed names. Mama wanted to name him Socks. I agreed with Little Girl when she said she didn’t love that name. Little Girl came up with Oreo, and supposedly the kitten mewed in agreement, and it was settled. So, there you have it. Its name is Oreo. Definitely better than Socks. Terror may have been more accurate, but they didn’t ask my opinion.
My humans left again to buy it – I mean Oreo – more supplies. He mewed from the bathroom, giving me a headache. When they returned, they put something around his neck – a collar, just like in Lady and the Tramp, making it official. Ugh. Then I realized there was something even worse about that collar. It had a bell. Everywhere, it was jingle, jingle, jingle. Jingle, jingle, jingle!
Mama went overboard trying to cheer me up. The kitten mostly left me alone. I weighed my options, and decided to give him another chance. I hopped up to him, and he seemed to be more worried about me wanting his now slobbered on sparkly toy attached to a string than attacking me. If that’s what he would continue to worry about, there was a chance this might not be the end of the world. I went back to my hidey-hole and flopped, resigning myself to Mama snuggling me too much, but it had been a long day.
It was nearing bed, so I hopped in my condo for a snack and to use the litter box. Jingle, jingle, jingle. I warily looked over to see the kitten approaching my condo. Mama deflected him from the entrance. I bent down for a fresh mouthful of hay, and I got poked! I spun around, only to come face to face with Oreo, through the bars of my condo. He had reached his paw right in and poked me! In my own condo! While using the litter box! And he looked very satisfied with himself. That did it.
Big Rabbit swooped in to pick him up while Mama rightly fretted. I wanted my feed and I wanted it right then and I was in no mood to be touched for the rest of the night. Mama came down to pet me and I lost it. I grunted and attacked her hand with my angry paws. I’ve never done that before. I was glad Little Girl was in the big house with Mimi and Grampy for the night and didn’t see that. Mama gave me my feed, tucked me into my bunk for the night, and dissolved into tears. It took her quite a while to calm down, and I was bitter that the kitten was sleeping in the bedroom with them, but we all fell asleep.
Yes, the next morning I woke up friendlier. Not happy exactly, but I was off the edge of attacking. Unless I got poked in my litter box again. Anyway, I’ve always loved how I’m the tallest thing in the camper from my bunk, and can observe everything easily, from a safe vantage point. Jingle, jingle, jingle. Mama and Big Rabbit emerged from their bedroom, Oreo in Big Rabbit’s arms. They both sheepishly said good morning to me, then Big Rabbit got the kitten’s food and closed him and Oreo up in the master bedroom again, leaving the rest of the camper to Mama and I.
A sigh of release escaped from me, and hope lit Mama’s eyes. She quickly got me down from my bunk, and we made up. She cried all over me, but that was to be expected. Mama’s rather emotional to begin with (hence, needing an emotional support animal), but I knew after rejecting her the night before, there would be consequences. At least it seemed clear that she cared much more about me being upset than falling in love with Oreo.
It’s time to end The Invasion series. Oreo and I continue to have our differences, and he’s certainly caused chaos, but it’s been made clear that he’s staying. Mama remains my human, and though she’s not perfect, that’s a very good thing. She is not cat crazy like Big Rabbit (Oreo can have him), or Little Girl (I’m not a fan of sharing, but he can play rougher games with her than me, which she seems to like a lot, and she still adores me, so I’m dealing). You’ll still hear of our escapades from time to time, don’t worry.
We had our first Christmas with Oreo. He grew, and continues to grow, like a weed. I still got presents, he got a harness and leash so we could both be out together without me fearing for my life, and, I must admit, while our family has been going through hard times, Oreo, well, he has actually helped Big Rabbit and Little Girl a lot. Mama’s snuggled me so often there just isn’t much more of me to go around. It was definitely a different kind of Christmas, but at least one tradition stayed the same: since Oreo arrived after Mama had sent out the Christmas cards, it was nice having one last card with just me as the family furry. One day, however, Mama came home from a shopping trip, and presented us – Oreo and I – with outfits for the Christmas 2020 card, so I have that to look forward to….
