Today was Ellie, my cat’s,10th  birthday. I looked on the internet to see what else happened 10 years ago on April 28th. Absolutely nothing else of significance. Apparently, the highlight of April 28, 2010, was Ellie’s birth. I’ve always suspected this. No wonder she thinks of herself as a queen (note the crown). I know her date of birth because her mother, a seal-point Siamese, was in the animal shelter where she gave birth to a litter of kittens. Ellie was one. Yes, for all her regalness, Ellie is a rescue cat. But she has requested we keep it on the down-low. She doesn’t want word of this to get around the neighborhood. She has her reputation, doncha know.

I thought it would be nice to show a typical day in the life of the monarch, she who graces us with her presence:

First, there is breakfast. I think it should be noted that after a long night of sleeping, a hungry cat can be the most insistent alarm clock in the world. And breakfast seems to be sacrosanct to most cats. Breakfast is from 9 to 9:15 am. There is no deviation.

After breakfast, we have nap time. True, she just woke up, but there is a certain amount of stress in moving from the bed to her cereal bowl. Besides, her philosophy is nap time should take up the bulk of the day. This is different than sleeping, which she does at night. In the daytime, she naps. All-day long. It’s written in her contract. She has many separate nap times and they are delineated by food and snacks.  After breaking her fast, the rest of the morning is devoted to her mid-morning nap. Then a light snack from 12 noon to 12:15. For the record, there are three kinds of snacks offered her, depending on her majesty’s pleasure, Greenies, Temptations, and Party Time. You will note her stance looks pretty much the same either when eating meals or snacks. Ellie is a consistent kinda gal.

From 12:15 to 5 pm, we have some serious nap time. This is the do-not-disturb-me-under-any-condition nap time. Sometimes she goes into a closet for this, as there seems to be a little too much activity around here with all the silliness of sheltering in place. 5-ish is dinner. I shan’t include pics of dinner time because, well, it looks the same as breakfast. Actually, a lot of everything looks the same when you are a tubby black cat. But don’t let that get around the neighborhood, either. 7-ish are more snacks and possibly a belly rub, after which she must nap until 11 pm in order to prepare for going to bed.

As I write this I realize just how seemingly boring a day is in the life of a cat. Odd that. Maybe because I am her devoted subject, I thought it was a lot more interesting than it really is. Well, whatever. Happy Birthday, Ellie. And the little white blob in front of the sign is not a balled-up Kleenex but her toy mouse, one of her favorite toys.