Dubis:  The cat, the myth, the legend

Dubis, my cat, expressed to me his strong desire to have a very own web page of his own. Okay, what he really did was purr a lot and walk all over the keyboard and try to introduce lots of typos to all of my pages. Either way, he gets a page to all his own.

New Toys, New Victims ...

Dubis has this toy that consists of a rod that clamps to the top of a door, with a string dangling down. At the end of the string is a fastener to which one can attach a variety of different ... lures.  You can buy all sorts of them at the pet store ... feathered things, puffy balls, miniature stuffed animals, etc.  Anyhow this thing dangles down into mid air and gives Dubis something to bat at when I am asleep or not home or just hopelessly not paying a proper amount of attention.  In the past these lures have lasted quite well.  Over time, the feathers get knocked off or whatnot, but they are quite reputable for a few months.  The last one having been made suitably disreputable, I went to the store to acquire a replacement.

What I came home with was "Bennie the Bird."  That's right, Bennie,  printed right there on the package.  Bennie immediately transfixed the Dubis.  MUST PLAY!!  I attached Bennie to the string and Dubis went NUTS! Move over everyone there is a new toy in the house.  This went on for hours ... specifically all night kind of hours.  No Dubis to follow me from room to room, no Dubis to sit in my lap and help read a book, no Dubis to hold down my patterns for me.

This went on for ... 3 days. All I saw of Dubis was the hungry kitten demanding to be fed.  At night the sound of Bennie being conquered could be heard through the whole house.  Thwap, thwap, jingle, thump, purr, thwap.

Bennie is no longer.  The house is once again like normal.  I have a Dubis in my lap and on my projects.  And the remains of Bennie lay scattered around the room.  A feather here, a pom pom has been dragged downstairs, who knows where the rest of Bennie has gone.

Must be time to go to the pet store and go lure shopping again.  Frank the Fish anyone?

BREAKING NEWS:

Amazing kitten saves several toys from certain peril. Sources say these items (a paper ball, stuffed snake and a feather) were in imminent danger from a house spider on the prowl.  Spider has been devoured, and peace has been restored to this quiet sunbeam home.  Film and the full story at 11.

This news update was brought to you by Dubis the Cat, a legend in his own mind.

(Ed note: He made me write this, held me to the keyboard at paw-point and everything)

A cat named WHAT??

I have had lots of folks inquire, "what is up with the name of your cat?" "What is a Dubis?" Hmm … I shall explain.  Suppose you have a Great Aunt Biddie. She comes over one day and graces you with a gift. Tadahh! You are now the proud owner of a new plastic orange peeler/wine screw/remote garage opener (microwaveable, of course). Not wanting to hurt Aunt Biddie's feelings you say "Gee Aunt Biddie, thank you for this wonderful gift (er, Dubis) it will be a great addition to my kitchen (er, closet).

Now not all Dubii (plural for Dubis) are things that your family and friends have blessed you with. Some of them are those really practical wrench-plier-tool-thingies that manages to somehow remain hidden or just ever so slightly out of reach. You know, "Hey Byram, pass me that casting Dubis." So we have:
 

Dubis (Dú-bis) - n. 1. An item, which once acquired has no real use or specific value, but you own it anyway. 2. A word used to reference some unidentifiable object, smaller than a breadbox, frequently out of reach.
Now you know why I named my cat Dubis.  Perfect definition if you ask me. :)

See my Kitten Pictures!!

Dubis has requested that the entire world be informed just how damn cute he is.  If you would like to personally check this out, wander over to the Photo Gallery and see for yourself.