April Showers / April Storms

by Phelicity

April is known for April Showers, bringing May flowers, and showers are nice. The patter of soft rain is even pleasant to watch out the window, and I like the way everything smells sweet when it stops. In the country, anyway; things rarely smell sweet in the city. But I don't see many patters myself. I usually see wild Spring storms and hear tornado warnings here in Southern Missouri. Last year we had terrible tornadoes that wiped out several small towns very close to us. I grew up with constant tornado warnings in East Texas that could come at almost any time of the year. We lived in a mobile home in the country then, and the only thing you can do in one of those if a tornado is coming is get out of it! There was no shelter nearby, and when you don't have a safe house or an underground shelter there, you hit the nearest ditch. We five cats spent many nervous times with our mom, all in our carriers out on the patio, watching the sky for the funnel clouds. I was in a soft one my mom wore over her shoulder like a tote bag, and the others in their regular ones. That gave my mom two hands to carry two of them plus me if we had to hit the ditch. Usually she stuffed my sisfur and her furmama into one carrier, but the boys were too big to go in one. We saw a funnel cloud go right over us once, but we were so lucky we never got hit! Here in Missouri we live in a nice safe house, but you must still take shelter in your house when there is a tornado warning. They say a bathroom or closet is a good place, but that depends on how many cats are in the house! Our bathroom is so teeny just the two of us girls and mom don't fit in there, and after one long closet vigil one night, we decided that won't do, either. I remained calm like a good kitty, but my sisfur was a nervous, screeching wreck. My mom says a good inside wall away from windows is safer, too, so that means the wall of the den. It's down 3 steps to ground level, and is sure a more pleasant place to wait out a warning! Not that my sisfur doesn't screech down there, too. Mom plops us in our carriers and puts us against the wall, and she brings pillows, blankets, flashlight, and the radio. And water fur my sisfur. Then we all sit there having a distinctly un-fun time until it's over. If our power didn't go out, Mom will read to us. But mostly we have to listen to that excited man on the radio. I don't like him. If you get a lot of wicked Spring storms and tornadoes and you hear a warning that one was seen near you, it's important to be where your meowmie can find you, because that's the first thing she does. Mine grabs me wif one hand and goes to fish my sisfur out from under the daybed wif the other, and it's plop! into our carriers before she efen gets her purse. And if your power goes out in a storm, it's important to not get under your meowmie's feet where she can't see you, cause she might trip and fall down those 3 steps like mine did once! Mine is kinda clumsy to begin wif, of course. Lots of humans light candles to see by, but that's a bad idea in a house wif cats. No candles! It won't help to get your long fluffy tail caught on fire! We never did, cause candles are a no-no here. Much better to have safe battery lamps and batteries that didn't expire last year. You can bet your meowmie is gonna be real crabby if the power's off for a long time. At first you can comfort her, but after a while it's best to stay out of her way while she's stumbling around looking for newer batteries. And don't expect to get your dinner during that time if it involves her opening the fridge, cause she won't do it. That's actually good, cause if it goes on too long, she has to open a fresh can for you. That's better than leftovers. So don't worry when the wild Spring weather starts happening, your meowmie will do that for you. And she will keep you safe. All you need to do is cooperate and be patient. And don't screech.