Don't you just love celebrations? I do! And if they come with candy and cake and flowers and bouncy musical e-cards and catnip toys, I'm just tickled pink!

Miss Jerrianne was pretty surprised to get a birthday card from me in the mail. To tell the truth, I was pretty surprised myself. I think her friend that sent her catnip toys for her birthday had something to do with it. I got a big kick out of the greeting inside: "I suppose that means I have to be nice to you today!" She got animated musical e-cards, too. When I hear music playing, I always run and jump on her lap. I explore her computer, trying to figure out where the music comes from, as I watch.

We were both surprised when Miss Kathlyn rang the doorbell and brought in a big bouquet of yellow tulips and angel food cake with lemon curd and vanilla frosting. "No carbs for kitty cats," Miss Jerrianne said, so I didn't get any cake, but I contented myself with shrimp and salmon kitty treats and playing with my new catnip stuffed dogfish toy. I was, after all, being nice on her birthday, just like the kitty card said.

A couple of days later, when I settled in for my afternoon nap, Miss Jerrianne said a nap sounded like a great idea and she decided she'd like a cat nap, too. I woke up before she did and, finding the bedroom door unexpectedly open, I set off to explore. I checked her bouquet and found tulip leaves were quite tasty, as I nibbled a few. The cake had a lid that wasn't snapped tight and I opened it easily. I'm no angel, so I nibbled a bit of angel food. I dug in some flower pots and spread dirt on the floor...

I knew I was being naughty and I knew I'd get caught, but being curious is my cat nature. Sometimes it gets me in trouble, too. Like the morning I got bored while Miss Jerrianne slept and I played with a Dream Catcher on the bedroom wall. Beads and feathers on leather thongs looked so inviting ... I found I could pull off the beads and let the feathers float away. "That was VERY naughty," Miss Jerrianne said when she saw what I'd done. She gathered up the beads and feathers, put them back on the thongs the way they belonged and hung the Dream Catcher back on the wall.

The next time she went out and left me alone in the bedroom, she took the Dream Catcher off the wall and put it into a drawer so I wouldn't be tempted. It was still missing the next day, so I sat on the bed and meowed, rather insistently, for her attention. When Miss Jerrianne came into the room, she saw me staring at the wall where the Dream Catcher usually hung. "Meow!" I said. She took the Dream Catcher out of the drawer and hung it back on the wall. As soon as she did, I stopped fussing.

She went out again the next day and left me alone in the bedroom. Again, she put the Dream Catcher into a drawer before she left. Soon after she came back she heard me fussing and came into the room to investigate. I stood on the bed with my paws on the wall where the Dream Catcher normally hung. "Meow!" I said. "Meow, meow, meow!" She hung the Dream Catcher back on the wall and I stopped fussing, as before. I've only played with it that one time, and I think she's convinced now that I'll notice ... and fuss ... if the Dream Catcher disappears from the wall.

Next month we're going to celebrate MY birthday. Because I was a lost kitten, we don't know exactly which day I was born. The vet who first examined me estimated my age and set an arbitrary birthdate of April 23. However, I think I might celebrate my birthday with Arbor, Miss Jerrianne's nephew, on Arbor Day. That isn't Arbor's real birthday, either. He was born on Christmas Eve, but his father said he thought Arbor should have his own birthday celebration on Arbor Day. Maybe I'll plant a pussywillow tree. It sure won't be a dogwood!