Fly - 1, Naked Cats - 0....

Hugo: "Where did it go?"
Gina: "Quiet! Stalking!!"

So there I was, quietly curled up on the sofa reading, the fire on full blast (yep, still no heating - and yes, I've seen, we are threatened temperatures of -15 or so.... pah... I laugh in the face of such temperatures... okay slightly hysterically but that's the only option)... the dogs all snoozing around me.... when there was a roll of thunder from above.....

Well no, it wasn't thunder at all..... it was... The Great End of Season Fly Hunt.....

For two quite small cats they can't half make it sound like I've a heard of elephants crashing about upstairs......

By the time I put the dogs away and came up to play on the computer for a bit before bed they had managed to pull the towels off the back of the bathroom door, knock books off the shelf, tip over and spray their bowl of cat biscuits across the study floor and remove just about all the drying clothes off the airer.

I should be grateful they didn't knock the electric heater I put on for them up here over and set the house alight.

And the cause of all this .... a small innocent housefly, which was at the time lurking harmlessly on top of the bathroom door...

The following conversation may have then taken place....

Hugo (whilst bouncing up and down next to the bathroom door):  "Fly, fly, look human, fly"
Me (with toothbrush in mouth): "stop it, and if you even think about climbing up... ouch...Hugo!"
Hugo (whilst leaping from half way up my back towards the door): "I can get it, I can, oh no....."
Gina (from her perch on the banister rail): "If I chatter my teeth at it will you help get it?"

cue teeth chattering and strange chirrupy meow.... as I heartlessly wander past into my bedroom ignoring them.

Hugo: "I can get it, I can get it"

Next time I looked he was stuck half way up the wall with his claws stuck in the revolting anaglypta wall paper staring pathetically at the housefly which was still on the top of the bathroom door.  I left him there to find his own way down on the theory that he got up there himself he can get down himself.

I've turned the lights off now, and the fly appears to have won this round... Gina has taken herself to bed in a pile of my clean waiting to be ironed clothes, and Hugo is currently on guard duty on top of the book room door... which means any second he's going to make a leap for my right kidney to soften his landing on the way down.......

Remind me... I have these cats because????