Ms. Kitty Plays Tag

My story begins with a promise to the girls to let them outside while I was weeding yesterday. True to my word, I let them out while I was pruning shrubs and pulling weeds. They were content to roll around on the sidewalk and sniff the clippings from the shrubs. However, Cloe decided she was hot (she's covered in black fur and it was 80++ degrees) and found a cool spot under a shrub with a good view of the birds overhead. What more could a cat ask for?
Ms. Kitty had other plans for her outdoor time. Ms. Kitty, the adventure seeker she is, found something new in the flowerbed. A few years ago, a small garter snake made its home there. Ms. Kitty wanted to introduce herself and possibly make friends. Who better to make friends with than Gertie the snake? Gertie, however, wasn’t feeling neighborly and tried to escape from Ms. Kitty. Ms. Kitty would have no part of this and insisted that Gertie come out and play. She flushed her out of hiding and followed her as she slithered under Cloe's resting place. Poor Cloe, nothing's worse than dozing in the shade then finding a snake slithering over your paw. She shot from beneath the shrub with all of her hair standing on end. Gertie was hot on her heels trying to escape. Or were they playing tag? Ms. Kitty couldn’t decide and tagged them both. Both Gertie and Cloe hit back. Ms. Kitty thought this was great fun because she managed to attract Cloe's attention, make her fur poke out all funny, and have a game of tag all at once. This would be a wonderful day for Ms. Kitty.
Unfortunately, it was not for Gertie or Cloe. Poor Gertie had now attracted the attention of not one, but two cats. The first wanted to play tag and the second wanted revenge for disturbing her nap. No matter which way Gertie turned there was a furry beast blocking her path. She curled up in her defensive position ready for the attack. Ms. Kitty made the first move and was rewarded with a nip on her nose. This only made Cloe's hair stand up more (she had a squirrel tail now!) Cloe circled around the two taking it all in and absent-mindedly walked into the grass (see Ms. Kitty Catches a Bird to understand what an important piece of information this is.). I calmly looked on to see how far she would go before she noticed. She didn't. Apparently, there is a difference between freshly weed-eated terrifying grass and regular terrifying grass. As soon as she crossed the line into the regular terrifying grass, her hair poked out even more (if that’s possible) and she darted to the safety of the driveway glaring at Ms. Kitty. She knew this was all Ms. Kitty’s fault.
When Gertie glanced in my direction, I could see the look in her eyes. We had an agreement and I had broken it. She was welcomed into the flowerbed in turn for keeping mice and other creepy crawlies out. My end of the bargain was to leave her in peace to sun herself on the rocks and hibernate under her favorite shrub. I immediately picked both cats up and apologized to Gertie for my blunder. Today, she is happily sunning herself on her favorite rock. I let the girls have outdoor time by the patio. Gertie deserves a rest.