As Kimi walked along she chewed on said tail, belonging to said kitten. Said kitten allowed this for all of about 15 seconds. Which actually is a long time when you are getting your tail chewed out. My darling little furry Kimi, glorious in her summer sable was walking along with this limp black furry tail hanging from betwixt her lips, happily chewing like a contented cow on her cud. (sorry Kimi no personal comparisons here) Her ears were laid back behind her tiny head, like one would if totally relaxed, which in this case she was. Also which in this case was her first mistake of this game. Rule number one.......never let your guard down.

Just about the time that Kimi thought it was safe to go back into the kitchen...with the kitties tail leading her way. I watched the kitty go from relaxed to walking stiff legged. Even for a cat. Her ears went from happy to laid back which in a cat is NOT good news! And I watched as Mugs began trying to wag her tail, which again in a cat is not a good thing usually. It can be a sign of impending doom. Especially when said tail is snagged in a gentle vise and cannot be wagged.

With all the grace speed and agility of a small kitty, Mugs tucked her head under her, arched her back, and executed a near perfect somersault. Which not only worked her tail from between Kimi's startled lips, but also brought her into position UNDER Kimi!

As Kimi stopped and looked in curious wonder around her, not having yet realized that Mugs was UNDER her, Mugs moved in for the kill. Reaching tiny kitty paws up into the air, all four by the way, She popped out her pearly claws one by one. Pop Pop Pop Pop.....just as the realization washed over Kimi's face as to where the sneaky young miss had disappeared to, the kitty struck. Clutching Kimi by the furry tummy in four different spots, Mugs held on tightly when Kimi jumped. And jump she did too! Straight up into the air as her mouth popped open in surprised shock. Never have her eyes appeared so large.....so rounded as then.

When Kimi jumped up into the air, Mugs held on for dear life with all four feet. As Kimi caught air, she tried to look for Mugs, but since Mugs was still firmly attached to her underside, she never spotted her. Kimi could feel her mind you, but not see her. When Kimi landed on the floor with less then grace, not being used to the added weight of the kitty, it knocked Mugs loose.

OK, now the chase was on. Mugs scrambled like mad to find a firm foothold on a well waxed floor. Problem is her front feet had a mind of their own and it seemed it was separate from the one controlling the back feet. Had her toes been dipped in rubber, she would have been laying some right there on my floor. She finally gained traction and took off like a shot across the floor with Kimi in hot pursuit. They flew through the kitchen into the front room, and behind the couch where the only sound to be heard were the THUMPS and BANGS as they made they way between the furniture and the wall.

Then suddenly came a different sound. It was the TICK TICK TICK sound of kitten claws to the back upholstery. Kimi came flying out from behind the couch with a mighty YIP but there was no Mugs following or leading her way out. That mystery was solved when this tiny black head with a partially white nose popped up from behind said couch. Kimi still hadn't seen her yet and so there she stood in the middle of the front room sporting a huge grin that stretched from ear to ear, with eyes shining gloriously searching for her tiny friend. By the time Kimi had finally spotted Mugs on the back of the couch the kitten had made her way fully to the back.

Still she tried to remain hidden by crouching down as low as she could on the back of the couch, her own green eyes wide with anticipation. Kimi suddenly spotted hr slight movement and with a joyous YIP leaped onto the couch. As she made her jump to glory, Mugs took one giant step toward freedom. She jumped OFF the couch just as Kimi jumped ON the couch, the two narrowly missing each other in mid flight. As the kitten flew past Kimi, Kimi turned her head to take a nip at that flying fur ball. Missing her and landing with a soft OOAAFF! onto the couch, she neatly and quickly turned and threw herself off onto the floor again. Her tiny white feet had barely cleared the floor before she was off and turning down the hallway to where the kitten had disappeared.

Now we were in for a game of hide and seek. The kitten had chosen one of the rooms down the hall to hide from Kimi in but no one seemed to know where. When one is the tiny size of this kitten one can move quickly and easily without being easily seen. Kimi stopped about mid-hallway to look around, The long hairs around her ears tossed all around her ears as her head flitted from side to side. Eyes still shining in bright excitement, her tiny tongue bounced and jiggled from one corner of her mouth as she stood there huffing and puffing. She must have spotted a slight movement for with a resounding YIP she took off into one bedroom. From where I sat in the front room I could hear the sounds of a hot chase going on. It began with the mighty YIP of Kimi's and followed with the sounds of her landing on the bed, bouncing off the wall by the window, hitting the floor, pouncing across the pile of babies that had been flung to the floor in her haste to catch said kitty. In a flurry of squeaks and squawks from the squished, but stuffed babies, I could hear Kimi trying to stuff herself behind the dresser where the kitten often runs to avoid her treacherous snapping jaws.

I snuck down the hallway to watch what was taking place. Sure enough there laid Kimi on the floor, her tiny nose pressed between the wall and the end of the dresser where she had last seen Mugs run. There she lay, waiting for her friend to dare to come out. What she didn't know, but I could see from where I stood, Mugs had already made it out. She had snuck out from the other end of the dresser! Lightly jumping up onto the bed, Mugs walked toward the end of the bed, surveying her surroundings. Spotting the hapless Kimi laying there on the floor, her nose shoved so tightly between the wall and the end of the dresser that her eyes could see only what was right directly in front of her, Mugs arched her back and did that little side stepping dance that only a kitten can do with true perfection. KNowing what I was about to see, yet disbelieving it even before it occurred, I had to bite my lip to keep from shouting out a warning to Kimi. It wouldn't be right of me to give Kimi an unfair advantage! After all, all is fair in love and war, and I had yet to figure out which this was, though I suspected it to be a bit of both. On both sides.

Sure enough, just as the thought crossed my mind, Mugs gathered her tiny body under her in preparation for a giant leap for kitty-kind! Crouching down low, then launching herself high, Mugs vaulted from the end of the bed, flew across the shirt space between the bed and Kimi and with all the grace a kitten could muster Mugs landed all four feet right in the middle of Kimi!

With a startled YIP that sounded much like a screech you would hear from someone afraid of a mouse, Kimi jumped to her feet and looked around herself in shocked surprise. Spotting Mugs as she flew back down the hallway I watched as Kimi put two and two together and as she came up with the right answer (in this case two and two meant the kitten had gotten one better over on Kimi) her mouth dropped open in breathless laughter and with a sharp YIP ( Bonsia) Kimi was off and running down the hallway after the kitten. Yes, once again in hot pursuit.

I stepped back out of the way just as she spun around the corner after the kitten. Not yet able to see them, I heard Kimi as she ran and bounced her way down the stairs to the lower level of the house. With each bounce down yet another step Kimi would shout "GGRRUUFF" Down 11 steps went Kimi shouting "GGRRUUFF" "GGRRUUFF", making a mad scramble around the corner on the landing, her feet nearly flying out from under her in her haste, Kimi continued on down the remaining 8 steps shouting "GRRUUFF" " GGRRUUFF".

From where I stood atop the stairs I could hear their path through the downstairs. Across the family room, up and over the couch ( this I could tell by the startled shriek of a sleeping child who had just been used as a race track), across the chair onto the floor and under the playpen they chased. Unsure of who it was that failed to duck low enough as they raced under the playpen I have my suspicions it would be Kimi, being the taller and bigger of the two.

The chase did not end there though, but continued into the bathroom where I could once again hear the sound of tiny feet going pitter patter, SLIP, BANG, as they spun out on slick linoleum. I heard the faint sounds of a shower curtain being ruffled aside, and heard yet another loud bang of someone slip sliding their way through the bath tub. Which thankfully for them it was empty.

Then came the sudden and loud catter-wall of a kitten who has been captured by the enemy! I shouted KIMI! down the stairs and heard her answering "YIP!" (WHAT?) come back up the stairs to me! As she answered me, she had to let go of Mugs and so with a mad scrambling of feet I heard first the kittens almost soundless run of a two hundred pound animal ( well, ok, the kitten weighs about 2 pounds but haven't you ever noticed how a running kitten can SOUND as though they weight 200 pounds instead?). It was followed by the pounding of Kimi's feet as she flew back up the stairs after her tiny friend.

I sat down and watched their game go on in the front room. There stood Kimi, in all her glory, laughing at her friend. Her tiny friend must not like to be laughed at any more than does Kimi for it was about then that this tiny young kitten stood up on her back feet and walked bear like across the front room, batting her tiny white front feet at Kimi's head. I could almost hear the imaginary but mighty roar this kitten was issuing as she pretended to be ferocious bear. Kimi stood laughing until the first paw connected lightly to her left ear, just as she stepped back one step, the kitten stepped forward again and batted her upside the right ear. Kimi's head snapped that direction as she tried to nip at the offending paw. She was however to slow and as she turned her head to nip at the fleet foot , she got batted upside the LEFT ear!

Mugs was still on her back feet and was by now sort of standing and sitting at the same time. You could see the smile upon her own face as she sat there batting away at Kimi's head. Kimi's head was jumping from left to right, left to right as her tiny mouth nipped and snapped at each offending foot. She either didn't try to hard to catch the feet as they tap danced on the sides of her head, or she really was slowing down in her aging months.

Mugs suddenly changed tactics again as she dropped down to all fours, tucked her head under her tummy and did a perfect somersault. This afforded Kimi a better position to get a good grip on herself and the kitten. Throwing herself to the floor next top the kitten she opened her mouth wide as though to yawn and just "accidentally" closed her gapping mouth around the kitten! So now she had a tiger by the tummy! Kimi closed her eyes and held on for dear life around her grinning smile as the kitten turned and twisted and kicked at the side of Kimi;s head with her back feet. Grabbing a hold of the long hairs around Kimi's ears with her front feet, claws out, Mugs got a good hold on Kimi's head and pulled her down to her own open and waiting mouth. So here we had them, one tiny dog, one tiny kitten and each had the other in their mouth. I guess turn about is fair play! Neither bit hard, which proved their friendly compassion. Neither attempted to hurt the other, but to play as fair as possible in a mock game of dog-versus-cat war, which showed their respect and fairness for each other. Yet neither was willing to give an inch as they laid there on the floor, each with a mouth full of their furry friend. Which showed neither one was about to give up or give in!

Before long though their youthfulness showed apparent as their exuberance for their chase gave way to tiredness of body. Each nip soon gave way to a gentle lick and before I knew it, their attempts to gently chew the hide off of each other turned into a mutual grooming session and I had to smile as before long eyes once shining brightly became heavy with sleep. Within a few moments the two mighty warriors were curled up against each other napping peacefully. Mugs was pressed up against Kimi's warm belly, and Kimi had one tiny front leg laid gently over the kitten.

Which only goes to prove one more thing, never bite off more than you can chew! Their silly games have also redirected my beliefs to knowing it is always better to make nice with your friends rather than make war with your enemies. It's a little rough to be enemies with someone you share a warm nap with!

Walk In Beauty
Kristi & Kimi