Ptolemy Tom, Looks Like His Mum
“Then the family would say: ‘It’s that horrible cat! It was Mungojerrie - or Rumpelteazer!’ - And most of the time they left it at that.” (Mungojerrie And Rumpelteazer by T.S. Eliot)
Ptolemy looks much like his mother - a tabby striped tiger with a white tip on his tail. The ape-people tend to use terms like “not the sharpest tool in the box” although I’m not too sure what they mean by this. His claws are very sharp. Ptolemy is typical of a tom cat, though, not very bright, yet generous in nature.
Sometimes he will catch a mouse - more often he will steal it from one of his sisters. Once he brought on into the house much to the annoyance of the ape people who chased it around the room until it shot down a hole in the skirting and disappeared. Ptolemy kept watch on the hole for a while in the hope that the mouse would reappear. More likely it went under the floor and outside through a ventilation brick. He still harbours a hope that it will return and from time to time will look at the hole to see if there are any developments. None yet, of course and the brighter cats in the tribe realise this.
Most of us give him short shrift - particularly when he tries to assert himself as top cat. I’ve been known to box his ears on occasions for that offence. His usual trick is to slink up to his victim and lick their ears. Very nice, we all like the occasional ear lick…. mmmmmmmm. Then the blighter bites it. This results in a hiss, spat and flying fur with Ptolemy crashing through the cat flap with his offended victim in hot pursuit.
Since Ahmose arrived last summer, Ptolemy has a comrade in arms. He mothers her and she returns the affection. Oh, well, that saves my ears being bitten, I suppose. Since she had the kittens, he nannys them, too and she doesn’t mind. So all too often there is a thundering of feet, rattling of the cat flap and the humans look at each other and say “Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer and that’s all there is to say about that”.
Well, that’s me - gotta go… busy, busy, busy.
