Cat Chronicles: 5:30 am, Bacon and Cat safe zones

Week two into our cat cohabitation finds us, like most adoptive parents, adapting to being perpetually sleep deprived and besotted with our charge.

It turns out the little guy has an obsession with food far beyond most cats. He will routinely snort down all his and any other food he could get his teeth into. Unfortunately for Harry he has been adopted by trainers. We ordered healthy organic minimally processed cat food and bonita fish snacks. This cat karma has already resulted in measured food on a time schedule along with exercise oriented toys. Weighing my fur friend once a week and a cat health log was started. If only Oprah was a cat at our house, you say, there would be no problems. 

However there are times only the superior training of a ninja can stand between a cat and - BACON.

As part of my glamorous trainer lifestyle, I was making dinner at 5:30 am and got a little crazy deciding to put some cooked bacon into my insanely healthy poblano pepper, roasted corn, tofu soup. For those out there who are raising an eyebrow, yes, nitrate free, antibiotic free, swine who roamed freely on a green sustainable farm. I think the pig's name was Bob who had a high quality of life, his favorite color was green and he loved Coldplay. Hope that proves how sensitive I am to the pig's life.

I should have noticed the cat circling the floor in front of the microwave as it defrosted but the lack sleep is making me as punchy as an air traffic controller pulling a second shift.

Many moons ago I took some martial arts classes and I managed to irritate my sensei enough to be assigned rudimentary blow block drills and shadow boxing until I could focus. Or shut up. Neither happened. It was his version of sending the unruly recruit running circles around the platoon, gun over your head. While this revelation shocks none of you, those sweaty repetitive drills saved my bacon this morning - quite literally.

In my early morning distracted state I had placed food on the counter in a designated "Cat accessible Zone."

 "Cat accessible Zone Example"

Please Note the Cat Clearly Visible in the "Cat Accessible Zone"

There a two small "Cat safe Zones". My husband has patiently explained to me this is simply because Harry doesn't know about those areas yet.

The cat with a stealth I've only seen in wire suspended actors in Jet Li movies, suddenly popped onto the counter as I was slicing the bacon. The orange striped blur was just a movement in the edge of peripheral vision on the crowded counter. The automatic elbow block held harry back, scuttling backwards noisily into the coffee maker in frustration. Fear not, all the bacon made it into the soup.