Franklin: Watching Winston Get Wired

Winston, Contented After a Heavy Meal
(of God-Knows-What!)

I hate to rat out my brother, but it needs to be said, Winston is huge on getting wired. More accurately, he likes eating wires.

Mom discovered this when he had a little “stomach rebound” in the den and chucked up part of a twisty-tie. She looked in horror at the leavings and asked him what he thought he was doing, ingesting a piece of wire and plastic. I noticed Winston stepped into our Patented IgnoreMode™ demeanor, casually licking a paw, looking at the ceiling, and pretending he doesn’t understand English.

Later that night, Mom apparently heard some suspicious activities under her bed. I figured Win was just playing with Duckie, Moose, or another of our toys. But after a stern “Stop that racket!” – it being 2:00 AM or later – she decided to turn on the lights and see what he really was up to. I popped off my position atop her feet to check it out, too.

There, on the floor beneath the bed, Mom found plentiful evidence of Winston’s latest culinary efforts in the form of about a dozen nipped, snipped, and nibbled bits of insulated wire. I guess that crazy cat just can’t stay away from the white wire connected to the clock radio!

As she scrambled around under the bed picking up the pieces, my brother got the usual firm lecture, including plenty of that “What were you thinking?” and “This is baaaad kitty behavior!” stuff. I was relieved that I was (uncustomarily) innocent as she completely removed the wire from the radio in disgust, then shook her finger at Win and warned him about continued naughtiness.

No matter. He enlisted me in helping him tomorrow, as he undertakes a mealtime foray in the direction of the stereo. I guess his Menu du jour is a two-course meal!

Win to Frank:
"You keep watch, I'm on it!"