Poppy Cedes

I spend a lot of time thinking about other people. You’re included in the people category, since you’re people. Any time my mind thinks of the band Nouvelle Vague, for example, I think of the lovely Bearette who introduced me to them. And the only song I ever seem to remember without listening to the music is Making Plans for Nigel*, so how fitting that I got to help Nigel plan his time while his family (Partner in Crime, His Lovely Wife, and their daughter Too Legit to Quit [dba TLQ, and I shall not be explaining this evah so don't wonder]) was away visiting family.

That, my dears, is Nigel. Is he not a handsome boy? He is the best behaved male kitto I have ever met. It was a pleasure caring for him while his family was away, and I truly hope they last-minute-think of me again in the future for kittysitting him. I’m absolutely certain they have a nannycam** somewhere in their home but I would have done all the same lovin’ on Nigel even if there wasn’t one.

If I had not previously mentioned, Nigel was named after the Spinal Tap character. For some reason the fam has stopped calling him Nigel and just call him Kitty. But I? I like to call people and ameenals by their proper names. Example, I only call PiC by his full first name while everyone else on the planet calls him by his abbreviated name. This has more to do with the fact that, when my previous officemate and I asked him on his first day at work what we should call him, he told us to call him by his full first name, then hesitated for about 3 seconds (a long time in real life, count it out), then told us we could call him by his abbreviated name but by then it was too late, fate sealed and all that. And, that is precisely why I call Nigel by Nigel, because Nigel is his name, and Nigel is the name I was told when I asked PiC “what is your kitty’s name?” If he had said “Bob” I’d call Nigel Bob, but he said Nigel so I call Nigel Nigel.

My favorite part of taking care of him was (intentionally, shhhh) letting him out into the hallway of the building and then slowly chasing him down the hall saying, “Nigel, you got out, stop running away, I need to catch you!” and then we’d get to the end of the hall and he’d lie down and dig his claws into the carpet and I’d scoop him up into my arms and give him a kiss and slowly walk him back to the condo while we nuzzled and he purred.

*In case you’d like to listen to the song:

• A snippet of the song – Nouvelle Vague – Making Plans for Nigel
• A YouTube live performance video – Making Plans for Nigel

**The first thing PiC asked me when I asked him to kittysit for the girls in October was, “do you have a nannycam?” to which I responded, *staaaaaaaaaaare* “uh, not that I know of, but now I’m sure there will be when when I get back.” (He totally installed one, I’m sure of this. Hi, PiC!!!!)