The Kitty in the Workforce

by Lady Blue

The only job that we have now is being a watch kitty. When Meowmie leaves for work every day, she tells us to take care of the house. Snoopy usually meows first so Meowmie makes him the boss kitty. She tells us if anyone comes around knocking that we should bark like d*gs. Usually the only person that shows up is the mailman and we know him. We are all inside kitties and spend many hours on the windowsills.

But it was not always like this. We are big Maine Coons whose ancestors go way back to the Pilgrims coming over from England. Those first kitties were huge, but very gentle and were used as mousers onboard the ships. Most of the kitties came over to America on Captain Coon's boats and were known as Captain Coon's Cats. Their job was to rid the ships of all rodents. They were very good at this, too. Because they had large paws and were very fast on their toes, they soon cleared the sailing schooners of those pesty creatures. A lot of the kitties would jump ship in Maine and end up being barn cats. They still had the job of getting rid of the mice. It did not take long for them to be known as Maine Coon cats. Being as friendly as they were, they soon were allowed into the houses to take care of the rat population there, too.

Now of course, there are rattraps and gizmos for that sort of thing. As a result, we have been given a different kind of job entirely - that of being a show kitty and a wonderful companion to the humans. And that is a whole different story altogether......