Popeye...

...was missing at breakfast this morning. Suki and Lynx had come for breakfast and then disappeared.

A little while later I went in the garage to look for him. He was on top of the soft toy stuffing box and Suki was ministering to him. Unusual. I thought he and Suki were not the best of friends but this contradicts that.

About midday he came in as I was about to test the dog Meg with the fire alarm. So I gave Popeye some food, but then proceeded to test Meg for the fire alarm in the kitchen. I never thought...I cannot hear it...Popeye shot out of the kitchen out of the cat flap like a bullet, and he left his food. Meanwhile Meg worked perfectly for the fire alarm, she alerted me to it and I treated her.

I went to do something in the other room for a minute and when I got back in the kitchen, Meg was licking Popeye's green plate on the floor completely clean. I roared at her because she must have climbed on to the green garden chair and then on to the cabinet where Popeye's plate has been. And knocked it off.

You can see Meg on my sheepskin rug on the couch looking at me, reproachfully. 'You shouted at me...'

A short while later both Popeye and Suki come in together and ask for food. Again this is odd because Popeye and Suki don't do things together. Because I must have scared Popeye inadvertently earlier when I was doing the fire alarm work with Meg, I gave Popeye and Suki some more food.

Meg gets off the couch and sits at the door, looking at me, 'You're feeding those cats again...'

Suki looks up at this point, nudges Popeye who lifts his head off his plate. Popeye looks at Suki and then the dog Meg. Suki looks at Popeye at the same moment, and then Meg, and both cats turn together and go for the cat flap. Popeye actually holds back and allows Suki to go through first, and he follows immediately after.

Two plates almost full of cat food left on the floor.

I look at Meg at the door, who appears to be showing an expression of complete disbelief.

I don't know what animal politics were going on, but Suki and Popeye were in cahoots with each other...to annoy the dog?

And no Meg did not get those plates of food. I put them on top of the fridge freezer this time, well above my head...but to be sure I moved the garden chair away from the cabinet because knowing Meg, she just might have attempted Everest...