Clever Kitty

I was catching up with my brother David the other day. He got talking about his relatively new family member - Charlie the cat. A 7 month old moggie, who is quite a character.

David already has a dog Max. Max is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier who looks like he could tear a man limb from limb. He is the most even tempered dog I have come across. Nothing phases him. He has never bitten a person or fought back when another dog has attacked him.

He idolises my brother. David used to take Max down to the beach to walk him. Max was afraid of the sea. He wasn't fond of swimming. David surfs, so sometimes he would take Max down and leave him on the beach whilst he went surfing. Max would watch him from the beach, running, barking and almost getting wet, but constantly driven back by the waves lapping at his paws. One day, as David was paddling out on his board, he heard something. He turned around to see Max, swimming behind him, coughing up sea water he'd taken 'on board' and generally looking a bit distressed. Max couldn't stand not being with David. He now loves the water.

Anyway, back to Charlie the cat. Introducing Charlie to Max was always a no-brainer. Max wouldn't lay a paw on Charlie. At the beginning, as David explains, there was much hissing and back-arching, but they fast became firm friends.

Charlie will wait behind a curtain until Max walks past, then launch himself spiderman-style from above to take Max by surprise. They play bite each other in front of the fireplace and then curl up together to sleep.

So David told me a most amazing story. A couple of weeks ago, David asked his daughter to put the kitty litter tray inside the house before she left for school. David returned home from work to find the kitty litter tray outside the house.

Charlie had been inside the house all day alone.

Charlie had been prone to bouts of diahhorea.

Uh-oh.

With trepidation, David entered the house and put his nose into action to find any offending material (my brother has a prize hooter so this should be a walk in the park). After scanning the house and not finding anything, he turned his attention to the master bedroom. As soon as he got near it, his heart sank. An offensive odour had infiltrated his nostrils and beckoned him inside. As he scanned the room, there was no obvious sign. He looked high and low, but nothing. He then turned his attentions to the ensuite bathroom. A quick scan produced nothing until he ventured towards the toilet. And there he saw it. Charlie had done a crap IN THE TOILET!

Now that's what I call a smart kitty.