Since he was not getting out that day I decided to go in the garage and do some cleaning and visit with Sir Simon awhile. Of course he met me at the door and was just lying on the floor watching me pick up things and sweep the garage floor. Simon was very happy with the way things were going but suddenly he became upset and started slapping and biting the broom.

The reason for his strange behavior soon became apparant to me. On the floor in the garage there is a big cardboard box that a mower was in. One end of the box is open and it is on the floor so that it is like a big cardboard house. Since Simon uses this as a play area I had put some catnip and grass in the box and Simon had piled his toys in one end of the box. I had just swept inside his little house and had all of the catnip and grass swept into a pile. When I started to pick up the pile of stuff from his house he stretched out on top of the pile and would not move. If I tried to sweep he would slap the broom. I picked him up and cleaned up the mess and he ran inside the cardboard box.

It took a lot of persuasion and some new catnip and a handful of grass from the yard to make him happy again. When I put this in the little house he ran in there and rolled in the catnip and sampled the grass and was the old Simon again. I guess he did not want me to bother his little house.

A can of Fancy Feast finished the visit and Simon was my friend again but for a few minutes he was mad at me and was ready to protect his house.