Ranidaphobia II

Today it is R's birthday. Happy birthday R!

As we are quite a casual sort of household, R was looking up things on the internet in our bedroom this morning, whilst I watched a Lebanese film downstairs in the living room. Casual, like I say.

I heard a cat come in and do the "mew mew, I'm here" thing that they do. I called out hello and waited for the cat to come in. It didn't, but carried on mewing so I went into the hall to investigate.

What I found HORRIFIED me, and I was extremely relieved she had not come into the living room.

Natalie had come in with a frog, and was proudly proclaiming this wonderful gift she'd brought in.

I think you know the drill:

"Rob, I need you!"
"What is it?"
"She's brought in a frog!"

Weirdly, she wasn't playing with it, just lying sort of curled around it. Rob went off to the get the cat litter shovel and I waited in the living room with the door shut if the frog started having ideas about breathing and leaping and vile things like that.

Rob returned and suggested it was my fault that the cat had brought in a frog, because I had given them ideas about appropriate toys. He held this toy up to the crack in the door that I was looking through.



Seeing an ersatz frog so close to my face sent me into the screaming ab-dabs. I slammed the door, screamed very loudly and ran up and down the living room like someone who really really doesn't like frogs. Damm me buying that toy.

So then R had to get rid of the frog. But, the frog had gone. Where had it gone?! It was dead, wasn't it? No, it wasn't. Remember the cat's kidney problems? And the little cups of water around the house?

Yep, the frog had jumped into one of the water bowls.



OMG!

This little dive into water had apparently refreshed it, and it jumped into Natalie's face, scaring her into running away from her prize. Stupid cat.

Rob managed to get it back into the cup and then I had to be really brave and leave the living room to open the back door to let Rob dispose of the frog in the garden. After last time with the spade, I made sure he had his hand very firmly over the cup before exiting and helping him outside.

The cats are banned from the main part of the house for the rest of the day.

Happy birthday Rob!