Cat-astrophes Part Vier

The boys are now 8 months old. Still kittenish in behavior, they’ve gotten taller, leaner, and smarter in their mischief-making. A case in point is the way they “assist me” in my daily work.

I’ve worked with a computer game developer for the last 8 years. I really love our game, and I play it a lot on my own time. I often have my second computer in the game during the work day, for that gives me a quick means to learn about issues our team needs to attend to. (For instance, tonight I learned of an exploit that was giving a lot of unearned players rewards. It pays to idle in the guild hall. :) )

Franklin and Winston like the game too. They like it so much, in fact, that whenever I step away from my desk, they pop onto my chair and head right for the keyboard. This can cause some problems, as I tell a player “Going AFK for a moment,” head upstairs to grab a root beer, and suddenly the player gets messaged, "kkkkkkkkkllllllll=== " and other alarming comments.

"New style of trash talking?" my opponent asks?
"Yes" I reply bravely, fighting back a blush, "my kittens say "Bring it!"

The boys are exceptionally good at editing my documents, too. I’ve found myself looking at page 55 of a 2-page document because a kitty sat down to smooth his fur while resting a paw against the “Enter” key. I've found words in languages unknown on earth, and formatting that defies the common bounds of publishing. I actually had a colour shift on one document.

Now, fortunately, Winston and Franklin have not mastered actual gameplay or document deletion.

But clearly, it’s only a matter of time.