The Great Hunter

Martin is now an outdoor cat.

My Mom was here to visit - we were standing in the kitchen talking, and suddenly Doug looks at me and says: "I think that we should let Martin outside"....as he holds the door open and the cat darts into freedom.

And as I stood there with my mouth hanging open and Doug grinning from ear to ear.....that was the end of the discussion.

Martin is now an outdoor cat.
He is a VERY happy cat. Pretty much he sleeps in our bed, lounges on our furniture when he feels like it, has a warm house to sleep in, but gets to run and exercise and hunt outside every day.

From what we can tell he is on a one-chipmunk-a-day diet. We find the mutilated remnants all over the place on our porch and drive-way. It is a regular Rodent house of horrors when you step outside our house.

And as happy as Martin is, I am a little less than impressed with the "gifts" he leaves for me. I'll write more about that another time, but trust me, it has NOT been pleasant.

Poor Martin...

Here in the Bierer household, we have one family pet...a wonderful cat named Martin, whom we affectionately call Marty. I have written about Martin before...acknowledging openly that this cat only loves Doug...he hates me...and hates Danika even more. But, I don't think I've ever written about what a wonderful, patient, enduring cat he is. :) This cat puts up with so much....and he is so good to our little girl, even when he doesn't like her.

I thought I should illustrate with pictures.

This is Danika and "her" Marty. Anytime she manages to get close enough to touch him, she screams with delight. And on the rare occasions he lets her pet him, she inevitably is overcome with love for "MY KITTY" as she calls him, that this is what happens:



The funny part is this cat puts up with all of it. Sure...he looks for his first opportunity to run and hide under a piece of furniture, but he never hisses, scratches, or even begins to hurt her at anytime...he just lays there and puts up with it until she lets go long enough for him to escape. I really do love having an animal that is so wonderful with our kiddo. And I can't even begin to tell you what joy he brings to her little life. :)




As you can tell by these pictures, he was in an exceptionally patient mood that day. :)

So after I snapped the above pictures, I turned around at the mirror and was curling my hair and applying makeup. Behind me, Danika is on the bed "loving" Martin and chattering non-stop about her little adventure. She was saying things like,
"My kitty."
"I love you, Marty."
"Nice Marty."
"I LIKE the Kitty!"

I was happy to keep getting ready since she was obviously occupied. But after a while, all I heard was the last phrase....over and over and over....getting higher and higher pitched and more excited. I started to wonder why she "LIKED the kitty" so much....so I put down my curling iron and turned around....and this is what I saw:


Danika was saying "I RIDE the kitty!" and she was sitting squarely on that poor cat's back and jumping up and down for all she was worth. All that was missing was the saddle. Poor Martin! Danika was just thrilled...and I confess that it was hilarious. :) She kept "riding" the kitty for a little while longer....and eventually after I stopped laughing I rescued him. He was none the worse for wear, but happy to be out of the clutches of our two year old. ;)

What a great cat.

Marty- I love you, too!

As your cat, I must tell you I hate you.

We have a cat. His name is Martin.

Martin adores Doug, worships Doug, follows Doug around and begs to just be near him.

Martin hates me.

If he could talk, I have no doubt he would actually tell me he hates me. I work from home, and that cat is in the same house with me all day long. He does not even bother to pretend to be awake. But I know Doug is turning onto our street with his truck because I can hear the cat jump to the floor and race for the door so he can be waiting for Doug when he pulls in.

So, the other day, I got a new camera for work. I needed to practice and figure out the settings, but of course nobody was home with me...except Martin. So...I woke him up and prodded him to move and took pictures of him.

Let me say it again: he hates me. Lest you doubt me...please see the look of hatred he is giving me in all of these pictures..... :)


Martin sleeping....the camera had just arrived.

Martin now awake, annoyed, and irritated there is a flash going off in his face.

"I am warning you one last time....put the camera down and go back upstairs."

"I have been forced to climb on this table to be closer to your eye level so that once again I can deliver the death stare to you."

That weekend, Doug took a nap on Sunday and Martin immediately found a home tucked in Doug's arm. I just know he is thinking..."What part of I hate you don't you understand? Can't you see I'm with my real owner now? GO AWAY!"

:) My only consolation is that as much as Martin hates me, he hates Danika even more. :)