Lydia Olsen
Class of 2016

Dear Diary,

Most days around here are the same. I spend the early mornings curled up in the human’s bed. This is where the best blankets in the house are. Unlike the younger cats, I have earned my place on this throne. When I start to feel hungry, it is my duty to let the humans know. This tends to be at the first sunlight. I wake them as best I can. Sometimes they try to ignore me. Rarely do I have to resort to using my nails, but I’m not saying it hasn’t happened before. Together we jump out of bed. I insist on drinking from the sink as the humans try to brush their teeth. Everyone knows that there is no joy in drinking water from a bowl.

When the others gather, the humans pour us our food and we gobble it down. Sharing my meals with all of my "sibling" cats is not my favorite thing in the world. I can remember a time when I had the whole kibble-dish to myself. But, I have learned to make it work. Since I am considered to be on my eighth life and most of the others haven’t reached their third, I usually am able to claim as much as my stomach desires. The rest of the day I spend lounging around. I relax on the couch. I lay in the rays of sun as they shine through the window. I break up the others when their playing interrupts my naps. The routine has become pretty much the same every day. And though it is a good life, it does tend to get boring from time to time. I do my best to find things to entertain myself. Sometimes the humans will leave some form of plastic out, and I will bite it for hours until they make me stop. Other times they will leave their shoelaces untied and I will imagine them swinging back and forth as I pat at them. But in my heart I feel this desire for more…I know that there is something missing…

Dear Diary,

One of the humans has been making a lot of noise outside for the past couple of days. It is rather intrusive to my napping schedule. Today I crawled up into the windowsill to see what he was working on but was unable to get a good view. Instead I watched the birds fly from tree to tree. I wished I could be as free as they seem with the ability to roam from place to place whenever I felt the need. I have explored every inch of the human’s home over the years. I have determined that there is simply nothing else left for me to discover. The realization of this harms my curiosity. I am afraid that I may lose my curiosity all together…

Dear Diary,

The human has moved into the house and continues to make a lot of noise. He sits on the floor with a bunch of tools and persistently works. I have watched the other cats approach him and check out the scene only to run away with fear at the screams that come from the tools the human holds. There has been gossip going around as to what this means. Though we all have not come to a decision, it is possible that the humans are building a time machine.

Dear Diary,

I was rudely awoken during my afternoon nap. I was right in the middle of dreaming about catching a fish when the human plucked me up from the comforter. He carried me in his arms. I was too sleepy to quite understand what was happening. However, with every step the human took I became more awake. I have lived many years and knew that being carried by a determined human usually meant one thing…white coats and needles. I began to wiggle in the human’s arms fearing that I would be plopped into a cat carrier any minute and then placed into the car, off to some unknown fate. Then something strange happened…the human knelt down towards the ground near a tiny door. I had never seen this door but realized that it must have been what the human had been working on all this time. The human held me tightly and tried to push me out through the door. Under the belief that this door led to a time machine, I resisted as best as I could but the human continue to hold onto me. Before I knew it, my eyes were hit with light and my feet touched an undistinguishable surface. I knew that I must have ended another world entirely and decided to stop resisting. Then the strangest realization swept over me and I stood there stunned. I realized that I had not been tossed into some time machine but rather into the outside world! I looked around me and heard the un-muffled songs of the birds flying around the sky. I saw the trees that casted shade around me and I even saw my "siblings." I approached them cautiously. They, too, were busy exploring. I realized that this new room had walls made of wire that went around the perimeter to keep us enclosed and beams of wood for us to climb on. There were high surfaces and low surfaces. I spent at least an hour chewing grass. The other cats laughed at me but I had never tasted anything like it before…

Dear Diary,

It is safe to say that I have become a master of the outside realm. I no longer fear the damp dirt coating the pads of my feet and toes. I climb effortlessly from beam to beam and threaten to pounce on any birds that come too close. The other day we were all outside and it started to rain! We all scrambled to get back inside through the tiny door. Even the ordinary things become an adventure. Having a "catio" is such a luxury and something that I didn’t even know I could dream about!

Dear Diary,

I know that it has been a while since I have made an entry last, but I have been so busy! The room outside is always full of surprises. The other day we found a small black snake had wondered into our enclosure! All of us surrounded it and watched it with confusion, then we decided to leave it be. We have captured many bugs and have eaten them like treats. The humans arranged small hammocks at various heights within the enclosure, which we swing and nap in on a regular basis. Being outside is beautiful. Everything is new and exciting each and every day. Through the tiny door I can enter the outside or the inside world. We are free to go as we please. During the day I spend nearly all my time outside and in the evenings I crawl back inside and up to the humans’ bedroom to claim my place on their bed. I cannot wait to live out my nine lives with this mix of adventure and relaxation.

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