A Cat's Christmas
By Button Noseworthy
Part 3

Chris is the first one up, and he wakes Janet immediately. "Merry Christmas honey," he says and gives her a kiss.

"Merry Christmas" she says back. I walk between them, purring and rubbing my head on the bottom of Janet's hand. "And Merry Christmas to you too Button" she says in her cute baby talk voice. The women is an accountant, you'd think she could talk to a cat without reducing herself to inanities. She can't, however, and I have to take them as I find them. I purr an acknowledgement of the day and let her pet me for a minute.

We gradually make our way downstairs, and they head immediately for the stockings. I think I detect relief from Chris, no doubt he was expecting a potato or a lump of coal. He avoided that fate, however deserved I think it would have been, and happily digs into his treasure. Janet comes over a minute later with coffee for two and settles into her prize.

Once the stockings are exhausted and the coffee done, we go to the tree. Janet sits beside the tree and digs out a present for herself and one for Chris. I don't want to miss any of the fun, so I settle myself on Janet's lap, at least until there is some free wrapping paper I can play with. Soon, they are opening with vigour and I am playing merrily with a sheet of wrapping paper that has ribbon taped to it. It is then that I hear Janet say, "here's something for Button. Chris, did you buy this for Button?"

"Yea right," says Chris, "like I would actually buy the cat a Christmas present."

"Then where did it come from?" says Janet "I didn't buy it." Santa's parting words last night come back to me and I jump on to Janet's lap. It is a plastic stocking with a toy mouse, a package of soft dry food, and a catnip ball, whatever that is. I don't care what it is, I am the happiest Cat in town and I dive for my toys as soon as Janet gets them out of the stocking.

I leap on the mouse and start batting it around the room. Pouncing, jumping and whacking at it like I am playing a game. I chase it out of the room, and then back into the room. It bumps into the catnip ball and I pounce on the ball. Wait a minute, what's that smell? Something smells incredible, a smell unlike anything I have ever smelt before. It's definitely coming from the ball, and I grab the ball in my mouth to have a taste. Wow! This must be the catnip. This is incredibly, and I now chase the ball all around the room, grabbing it my mouth every chance I get.

Soon I am no longer Button the Cat. I am Queen Button the Lion. I climb to the top of the Christmas tree and wait for prey. It is not long before a warthog comes sauntering along. I wait patient and silent until he is in just the right spot. Claws out, teeth ready, I seize upon the warthog. Not a warthog! Chris!! Surprisingly, he acts like a wounded warthog and I find myself sliding across the floor of the room like a bowling ball. Good thing it's a wood floor, carpet would burn. I jump to my feet and race into the kitchen where Janet is eating breakfast at the table. I jump up on to the table and slide across it, landing on the floor on the other side of the table. Now I could use some carpet.

I don't know what's going on, but I feel great. I run into the living room grab my ball and run upstairs, only falling twice, to chew on some more catnip. I leap up on the bed and … miss? I hit the side of the bed with some authority, and decide the floor is a good place for a nap, thank you very much.

A Cat's Christmas
By Button Noseworthy
Part 2

It's Christmas Eve and the house is silent. What's the poem say, "not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse"? I can personally attest to the fact there are no mice in this house, stirring or otherwise. The people are upstairs sleeping, visions of sugarplums no doubt dancing in their heads; I never could figure out what a sugarplum is or why it would be dancing. No dancing down here though, everything is quiet. Unlike other nights, however, it won't stay quiet for long.

I do a quick circle of the main floor to make sure everything is in order. The outdoor lights are on so that Santa can find the house and the Christmas tree is left lit so Santa can find it in the dark easy enough, good. The stockings are hung by the chimney; as usual, however, there are only two stockings. But what about that ball that fell off the tree. Better see if I can fix that. Unfortunately, every time I try and lift the ornament it rolls away from me. Soon I am chasing it around the living room, batting at it with my paws and pouncing on it, batting and pouncing.
I don't hear him come in, the first I realize I'm not alone in the room is when I hear him Laugh. "Oh, ho ho ho. Button, you are such fun," says Santa. "I am glad to see you again." By way of greeting I rub my head against his big black boot, and he reaches down and strokes me behind the ear. He immediately sets to his work, and before you know it Chris and Janet's stockings are stuffed full. Silent as a cat, Santa walks to the tree and starts piling presents under it. On his way back to the chimney, he notices the milk, cookies and carrots that Janet left out.

"What's this then?" he says, as he lifts a cookie to eat. A minute later the cookies are eaten and the glass of milk is half-empty. "I bet you wouldn't mind a bit of this Button." He pulls over the plate that only a minute before had held three big cookies and pours a bit of milk on to it. I quickly run to the plate and lap up the milk as fast as I can, purring my pleasure at developments. Santa laughs and re-fills the plate before leaving. "And don't you worry Button, I didn't forget you live here."

I look up from my milk wondering what that means, but he is gone. I can hear him on the roof feeding the reindeer Janet's carrots, and then he is off. The excitement is over and I go upstairs and make myself comfortable at the foot of the bed. Sleep, however, comes difficult as Santa's parting words to me run through my head and I try to make sense of what they mean.