Let Sleeping Cats Lie

Me: “Hola Carmen, I see you looking in through the screen door like you want in the house. You have done this several times now in the last few days.”

Carmen: “No, no, I wut nefer wan’ to come back into ze casa. Besides zez casa ees nosing I know anysing about. I nefer live in it, I am jus’ very curious. I am luking for Winnie. Where iz he?”

Me: “My guess—he was up too late last night. He and Frida are sleeping on our bed. He must have yelled his brains out and needs to recover. I see you now sitting on the porch taking a bath acting like you think you own this house.”

Winnie recovering from a night of caterwauling

Carmen: “It iz a fin house and ze porch, she ees nice and quiet. You put out some water in a yellow bowl which I think ees fine. Et ees where I like to drin’. Et ees hard to find water here on the ground, ju’ know.”

Me: “I see you sleep here, too, at night. Your fur is all over the patio chairs that I re-covered.”

Carmen:  “Oh yas, I like to slep on the chairs, mi and mi mama. We curl up togetzer. They nice and soft, jes perfect. Rally, we like to slep in your yard too.”

Mrs. Moustache and Carmen resting

Me: It is starting to get hot now, you will probably prefer your own separate chairs or you will be too hot .”

Carmen: “You may thin so, but et still ez cool at night. Where ees ze funny leetle dog?”

Lupita interrupted from her nap by a shutterbug
Me: “Oh you probably can’t see her. She is here on the couch next to me curled up in the blanket sleeping.”

Carmen: “She always chase me in ze yard eef she see me. She is funny. The beeg dog too, although I touch noses wiz him ze udder day when I was een ze chair sleepin’. I remember him from ze udder house. He ees not bad.”

Me: “What are you going to do today?”

Carmen: “I dunno. I thin’ I might lak chase some birds, or take a cruise through the neighborhood. Later I lak to take a catnap, maybe wiz mi mama. Mi mama she tell me ef ze dogs chase her, she jump up on ze truck tire. Ze leetle can’ jump so high. I weel come back later, I wan’ to talk to Winnie.”

Carmen looking regal and feeling like there are one too many people with cameras in the world.