AT-AT it again.

Well, I regret to report that the bedroom door is still closed. But life goes on. I especially wish the door was open so I would have one more place to escape from Steve.

Steve’s been on Cloud 9 ever since he met our recent visitor Basil Worthington. I worried Steve would fall apart when Basil returned home to Louisville, but no such luck. Steve’s more determined than ever to be the perfect feline specimen. Right now he’s trying some new ab workout he found online that involves rubberbands and tennis balls. Don’t ask. He swears if he could just get his paws on a Shake Weight he’d have the most sculpted body ever. He watches too many infomercials.

The Shake Weight [As Seen on TV]. Saturday Night Live did a funny spoof of the Shake Weight ad [click here to watch]. Steve got SO MAD when I showed it to him! He said there’s nothing funny about his quest to achieve the perfect abs.

But enough about Steve. He’s the least of my concerns right now. Violet is the one that worries me. She keeps to herself most of the time, but when I need an ear she’s always there. Violet’s old and wise. [As opposed to Ethel who is just old. Don’t tell her I said that!]

You may recall my mentioning in a prior post Violet’s recent penchant for the dog’s wet food. Every night at feeding time she ambles out of her room, walking down the hallway like an AT-AT, to sneak a few bites of their dinner.

Violet in motion. Don’t get in her way! She may be slow, but she’s lethal! Eventually. Image source.

For some reason I don’t understand, The General (aka Sherman) steps aside and lets her dig into his bowl. If that were me… no way!!!

Ever since the rebirthing a few weeks ago, Violet’s behavior has become more extreme. It’s like she thinks she’s a dog! Why would a cat ever want to be a dog?!? Examples of her strange behavior include:

1. As I mentioned, eating the dog’s food.
2. Sitting at the back door like she wants to go out. She even pooped by the back door the other day. When I asked why she did that (instead of going in one of our many litter boxes), she said she did it because no one would let her out. Huh? We cats don’t go outside!
3. Laying on the sofa with our moms surrounded by the three furry beasts in the evenings. She’s so relaxed out there she snores right along with Sherman!
4. Peeing outside of the litter box. This week Violet peed in Ethel’s bed. Now, we have lots of litter boxes. Lots. And our moms even bought lower boxes so Violet could get in easily – and I see her use them all of the time. She definitely doesn’t have a bladder infection (ouch!), either. But I do know that our brother Sherman sometimes pees on things to mark them. I think Violet was marking Ethel’s bed. Of course Ethel blamed Steve when she smelled pee on her bed. Ethel HATES Steve!

Clearly something’s not right. Is it that Violet’s becoming senile and is confused about her identity (and what litter boxes are for)? Or maybe the rebirthing accidentally reprogrammed her?

Remember this? If not, click here to read about our Rebirthing exercise.

Perhaps Violet sees the advantages bestowed upon the furry beasts (namely treats and wet food) and decided that since she can’t beat them, she’ll join them?

Hmm. Maybe she’s onto something there. But a furry beast? No, it’s not worth it.

Eggnog asked if I knew why Violet had pooped by the back door. I gave Eggnog a rundown of my observations and explained my suspicion. Of course Eggnog blamed the whole thing on ME. She said this was further evidence of how out of control I’ve let things get. Eggnog told me to figure out what’s wrong or else she’s telling our moms.

Eggnog says she’s tired. And it’s all my fault.

I asked Eggnog if she thought I should talk to Baby Girl to get some expert advice. After all, Baby Girl is a certified Life Coach and is the one that conducted the Rebirthing exercise. Maybe Baby Girl’s seen this happen before? But Eggnog said I’d lost my ever-loving mind if I consulted Baby Girl about anything ever again.

I could research Violet’s symptoms on VetMD, but every time I look something up on there, I end up terrified. So that’s probably a bad idea, too. Besides, Violet visits the vet every other week. If something were terribly wrong, surely the doctor would know.

For now I’ll just keep my eye on Violet and hope she returns to her old self – sleeping all of the time… and then sleeping some more.