The Flying Grayson

Grayson gave me a scare the other night.  It was 12:30 AM and I was asleep.  I woke up to the sound of scuffling coming from the office.  I assumed it was just Grayson jumping to the top of the 6+ foot tall bookcase, which he had just recently proven capable of.  I saw him do it the night before.  Just like Curry does, he used my desk as a launch pad and flew 5 feet up to the top of the bookcase.  Once on top, it's fun for the cats because there are two bookcases set at a right angle in the corner, and an additional two along one wall, so it's kind of like a catwalk.  So, from my bed, I called out to Grayson to see if he was OK.  He heard me call him and meowed back...it was actually more like a little cry.  I kept calling his name, expecting him to come to me.  He kept answering but the sound of his voice didn't get any closer.  I immediately knew what had happened, and I knew that I would be taking a little break from my slumber.  Curry saw the whole thing, so I'll let her describe the events of the wee hours.

"I have no shortage of pesky little brothers.  Grayson bugs me most of all because he is a copy cat.  He had been watching me jump to the top of the bookcases for weeks.  Finally, the other day did it on his own.  Now he is probably going to keep me away from my favorite spot, but I'll deal with that later.  Here's what happened the other night.  Grayson jumped down into the opening between the two corner bookcases.  It's less than 12 inches square, and the bookcases are more than 6' tall, so he was stuck.  I wish I could make fun of him for doing something so idiotic, but I can't.  Why not?  Because I did the same thing a few years ago.  I know, you're thinking, 'but Curry, you're such a smart cat...why on earth would you jump into a trap like that?'  Well, the answer is that curiosity got the best of me.  I slid down the side of the bookcase and was halfway down before I realized there was no way back up.  Unfortunately, I tried this when mom was not home, so she found me like that after I'd been down there a while.  How long?  I'll never tell.  So, Grayson followed in my footsteps, literally.  He did it in the dark too, but at least mom was home and knew that he was crying for a good reason.  She got out of bed as soon as she had figured it out.  She had to remove all the books from one of the bookcases, and slowly ease it away from the wall inch by inch to let Grayson out.  Here's a picture mom took once Grayson was free and inspected for injuries (there were none...we cats are pretty darn tough).

So, as much as I want to make fun of my little brother, I can't.  I know exactly why he did it.  And I also know that he's very unlikely to do it again.  Mom worried that I'd do it again, and started devising schemes to plug the hole, or to rearrange furniture.  It was unnecessary.  I was curious, but I'm not stupid.  To this day, I love to hang out on top of the bookcases, but I'll never jump into the corner again.  While I say that Grayson probably won't do it again, I know there's a slight chance that he will.  After all, he's still a crazy young thing and thinks he's invincible.  I guess I'll try to be a good big sister and look out for him.  I can tell you that he's copycatted me again: he has started reaching over the top and knocking books to the floor.  Nothing against books, but it's kinda fun to do.  I don't begrudge Grayson this pleasure either.  What is it that you humans always say about imitation and flattery?  OK, I'll try to appreciate my brother.  Sigh."