From: schlumpf@uimrl7.mrl.uiuc.edu ()
Subject: repost: story - THE MAU (tremble TREMBLE) 
Reply-To: schlumpf@uimrl7.mrl.uiuc.edu ()
Organization: Materials Research Lab
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 03:34:43 GMT

Hi folks!

I have reasons to believe that this did not make it out of theUniversity
of Illinois
so I am reposting it so everyone can read it and not just us select few!
:) 


Well, with all these great stories going around the net, I thought I'd tell you
about Pixel (alias THE MAU (tremble TREMBLE)) our 1.5 year old Siamese cat.
Pixel is spayed and declawed. Dante, our 1 year old fuzzy, weirdly marked black
& white mutt cat is not declawed, yet he just doesn't stand up for himself like
THE MAU (tremble TREMBLE) does. :) We also have a black Cocker (Baeki) and a
13wk black German Shepherd (Siegfried) who's bossed everyone except Pixel
around to become king of the house....Enough background.. This happened last
night...                       
 
Ahem...
It was a dark and rainy night. The rain beat on the door and as the wind
slapped the rain up against the door some would leak under and onto the little
bit of tile which was the entrance way. It was the kind of evening you don't
wander out on and as it was the day after Halloween, you're still prepared for
spooks and scares and normal things somehow become strange and eerie.

I was sitting in my chair at the opposite end of the house (not a very big
house, mind you, it's a 2 story, 1000 sq foot rented townhouse) stitching away
at my Christmas exchange quilt blocks and watching "All Creatures Great and
Small" on PBS. The chair squeaking back and forth as first one beastie and then
another would brush by, jump on it or go under it. Peter was upstairs in "the
office" working on the soon-to-be released program. It was pretty quiet over
all as the rain came down, flooding the already soaked ground.Dante was napping
peacefully on the back of my chair, shifting his weight occassionally, making
me re-adjust and the chair would squeak back and forth. Baeki, our Cocker
Spaniel, slept peacefully on Peter's chair. Siegfried, our 13 week old German
Shepherd pup slept by the large patio doors watching the rain go down as he
dreamt his puppy dreams. Little did this peaceful animals know what was going
to happen next.Herriot was just talking to a shepherd who was worried because
his Border Collie had never barked. Suddenly, out of no where there appeared 
THE MAU which sent all hearts in the room trembling. She glided across the
carpet and down the one step into the TV room and sat down. With her piercing
blue eyes she searched the room for a likely victim, every animal and human
wished it would not be them that she would make her new toy in her never-ending
vicious games. She looked at me and seeing I was playing with a needle and
scissors decided I wasn't the best of targets right now even though that
material and thread WAS tempting. She looked at poor Dante, who was now wide
awake and watching and trying to scrunch up behind my head. He didn't suit her
fancy at the moment because he was up behind that needle. Her glance wandered
to Baeki, no she didn't look to exciting at the moment, but THEN the eyes of
THE MAU (tremble TREMBLE) wandered over to Siegfried, the 28lb puppy who by now
had become king of the hill as the largest animal in the house. Ahh..now here
was a challenge suitable for THE MAU (tremble TREMBLE) and he was the only one
still sleeping! Little did he know what fate had in store for him.

Three pairs of eyes watched THE MAU (tremble TREMBLE) cross the room and
stealthily tiptoe to the back of the chair by which the poor innocent victim
slept. Suddenly I hear a YIP! AROOooAROOOOOO as THE MAU (tremble TREMBLE) wakes
the poor sleeping puppy with a bite on one of those big bat-like ears. What a
crude awaking. She then procedes to bite his tail until he wakes up and plays
one of her cruel vicious games with him. Up he gets, towering over THE MAU
(tremble TREMBLE) as 3 pairs of eyes watch the struggle begin. THE MAU crunches
on his tail as the poor helpless puppy who was taught he was NOT to hurt the
cats sits trying to figure a way out. Yes, he thinks of something and charges
her, hoping to scare her off. No, nothing scares THE MAU (tremble TREMBLE), she
stands her ground and for his trouble she bites him on the nose. Siegfried
backs up and decides to make a run for it. He charges past THE MAU (tremble
TREMBLE) and behind my chair. No such luck, for the poor puppy who cowers near
the side of my chair between it and the wall, as THE MAU (tremble TREMBLE) gets
up on a nearby chair and LEAPS onto her victim. For his escape he gets bit on
the flank as that's the nearest thing she can grab. The puppy escapes again and
charges into the kitchen, thankful that he's more coordinated now and can run a
little faster than THE MAU (tremble TREMBLE). He runs back into the TV room,
THE MAU (tremble TREMBLE) right on his tail. He runs to me, hoping for
salvation and as I try to call off THE MAU (tremble TREMBLE) she bites his tail
again. I call a time out and THE MAU (tremble TREMBLE) turns back into her
placid self, asking for a tummy rub and saying "Did you see that Mom, I'm queen
of the house now,  I can keep that little whippersnapper in control!" 10
minutes pass and James Herriot is now out at a farmer's place checking on his
sheep. THE MAU (tremble TREMBLE) slinks off my lap, finds Siegfried, who is now
sleeping again, curls up next to his warm fuzzy body, cleans one of his ears
and then falls asleep purring her heart out.

NOTE: All four of them REALLY like one another, sleeping, eating, drinking, and
playing together. Pixel just decided that he looked like the best one to play
with yesterday and it's really kind of funny seeing as she weighs 8 lbs and he
weighs 28. She's about 7-8" off the ground and he's about 17-18". Pixel is
normally the wimp cat of the house too...you can contort her into just about
any position and she won't even complain and will stay there without being
held! We call her THE MAU (tremble TREMBLE) as a joke. We pretend that she's a
vicious lion and run from her, she loves it! We also call her THE MAU (tremble
TREMBLE) because she doesn't MEOW, she's MAUs. Somehow Dante just doesn't fight
back to Siegfried when he gets rough, but Pixel, she's truly the only one who
has his respect around the house! No joke! That's cause she BITES! :)

HOpe you enjoyed the story, it really was HILARIOUS to watch and she didn't
really hurt Siegfried as she was just playing around...

Kay & Crew