Minion Vs Christmas Tree: And then she brought her game up a notch

I was up all night and into the morning on January 1st, working on stuff. Minion was sitting under the tree, going through her usual routine. I watched her work her way through each ornament...

pine cone

snowman

 plastic star

bell

wood garland

 

 

bored bored bored

 

 She got up on the heater, leaned on the branches, and started reaching for other ornaments. She pulled a bird off, and I thought--ah this is how she gets off the higher ornaments.

Then she got a reach-for-the-top look in her eye...

(Haley watching.)

 

Minion shook the tree and down came Ted Angel. Another sad casualty in the Christmas War.

Minion casually stepped over the body.

 Minion disappeared behind the tree, and I kept working. And next thing I knew, there she was, halfway up the center of the tree, and climbing.

She got about two thirds up, and just sat there.

She just hung out. Occasionally changed position. And ate ornaments.

This became her new routine:

1. Examine ornaments (hmm there's nice ones up here at the top)

2. Give a little chew

3. Bat it

4. Watch with Surprised Look! on face when the ornament falls off the tree.

This is the look I get after a "Don't chew the lights!" command.

But it's the surprised look on her face every time another ornament falls that gets me every time. "Bat bat bat... wha-!! It fell! WTF??"

I moved the monkey off the tree before I got a "Bat bat bat -- wha-! WTF? [smashing noise] Ooh! That was excitin'! Do we have more of those?"

A stern talking to.

Aaaaand right back into the tree. There was fresh air coming in through the open window, so she started scampering around the apartment, and then taking flying leaps into the tree.

I finally decided the war against the tree had to end. I wouldn't mind her hanging out in it, but she's determined to eat the lightbulbs and the plastic stars. Anything with bits that break off and could choke her, she's interested in.

I got out the cat repellent I bought years ago but never tried. I sprayed the whole tree. It smells, let me tell you, like cat piss. Which made me suspect its repellence abilities. But she eventually came back to the tree, paused at the strange smell, and proceeded to climb into it.

I found a spray bottle, twisted the cap to maximum jet velocity, and sprayed her out of the tree. Well. That got her attention. When she came back later for another go, she got another squirt up the backside, and did a backflip off the lower branch.

Then I went to bed.

My husband woke up at 4 PM--we didn't see each other so I didn't have a chance to warn him. He found her hanging out... in the tree.

Loo loo loo

Just hangin' in my tree, yo. "I'm on a tree, I'm on a tree, I'm on a motherfuckin' tree!"

I've continued to use the water bottle on her, and once when she was chasing Haley. It works for now, but I suspect the Minion is like the Borg, and it won't be long before she adapts.

Side Story: When my only cats were Nombly and Sherry, I tried using the water bottle on them to keep from being woken up too early. But here's the problem--cats know that only one nagger is required. If I have three cats who want to be fed, only one of them is the designated meower--the others just shut up and watch. So there I was with two waker-uppers. I would spray Nombly, and that would work--out he'd run. So Sherry would take over nagging duties. I tried to spray him, but he had really thick fur. It didn't take long for him to realize that he only had the turn his face away, and I could spray him as much as he liked, he couldn't feel a thing. "Meow. Wake up. Meow. Breakfast. Meow." 

So it's been a long time since I've employed the bottle. If it doesn't work, the tree's gotta come down.

Movies watched in December 2010

Sorted in order of how I rated them.

Haley Recovery

Time for some Haley pics. Here's where she crawled up to nap after she got home from the vet, ate something, and said her little prayers for having escaped the death camp.

In the last couple days I kept finding her totally passed out, dead to the world, recovering. Usually if a cat is napping and I try to take a picture, the small sound of getting out the camera wakes them up. But she didn't stir.

She has a new place to hang out, on the couch right behind my head. But the weird thing is I never realize she's there until I turn around for some reason. I think she's realized there's less chance of Minion harassing her if she sits RIGHT behind The Mahmmy.

 

I recently reorganized and cleaned out the front closet, where she had made herself a secret sneaky nap spot that Minion couldn't get to. I felt bad having to move it (it was a set of plastic baskets which I needed for something else), so I built her a new hideaway in a box. I taped it up so there's one small entry point--it's the only way to keep Minion out. Haley has finally discovered it, and if I see Minion sitting outside the closet looking Thwarted, I know Hal's in there.

Minion Vs Christmas Tree: Things fall into a humdrum routine

Sorry I fell behind on the Minion Christmas Tree wars. Just a bit too much going on. Here's the pics from December 30th...

 I wake up to find that Minion is now redecorating the tree, not just dismantling. She moved the angel from high up, and placed on a lower bough.

The usual casualties...

The remorseless perpetrator.

I was taking pics of her on the heater, and she attacked my hair.

A strand of lights were burnt out, again. (I still have one strand that I couldn't find the fix for.) I did find the bulb for this one eventually.

Minion considers attacking at the root... or rather, the bolts holding up the tree.

I tried pushing up all the low lights, so they're more hidden and wound in the branches, and not hanging down temptingly. You will see in a coming post that this was completely futile.

 Incidentally I finally removed the pillow from under the tree, which she never sat on. Once it was gone, THEN she sat on it.

OTHER KITTY PICS 

 Fernando crooning to Haley.

Minion watches from high atop her tower.

(A tower that USED to belong to Haley, as you can see by the sign.)

Kitten stealing my blanket and my book.

Tune in after midnight for the Final Shocking Episode of Minion Vs the Christmas Tree!