Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Hiss and Spit! Halloween and Our Cat!

A Halloween Gift

When my daughter was about three-years old, my mother-in-law made a Halloween decoration for us. It stood the same height as my daughter at the time, and it looks just like a wee girl in a ghost costume.  A sheet with black circles for eyes appears to be draped over a head and upper torso, with toddler-sized floral sweatpants peeking out below.  This little statue decoration stands sturdily on a small pair of little sneakers with pink and purple laces, and carries a burlap sack of candy with the words Trick or Treat printed on it. My daughter instantly adored this little ghost girl, and I have put it on display every October since we received it.


Our friendly little ghost girl

Hiss and spit

A six-week old kitten joined our family one year in May - and it grew up to be the cat you see in many of the photos on this blog.  The first Halloween after our kitten came to live with us, I set out the little ghost girl as usual.  Suddenly, our young cat barreled right at it, hissing and spitting - very clearly upset and thinking it was an invader and ready to do battle.  We watched him become mystified, then embarrassed, then nonchalant, as only a cat can.

Even after seeing this little ghost every fall for many years, our cat still has a moment of concern, when I set it out at the beginning of the season.  



These photos were taken immediately after the ghost girl came out of the box this year.
Our cat - after realizing the ghost girl is not real, and trying to pretend he was never worried!
If this little friendly ghost girl scares my cat - just think what his response would be to the grocery store witches and pumpkin goblins I mentioned yesterday!

Has a decoration ever frightened any of your pets?

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14 comments :

  1. Abby is afraid of everything - she is the most skittish dog I've ever known. I'm pretty sure the ghost girl would about do her in!

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  2. Our dog is curious, but doesn't seem too bothered by it. She isn't really skittish, but seems to always have a guilty conscious about something. Mostly unwarranted, as she is a really good dog!

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  3. That is SOOO cute! Umm . . . Can I borrow your cat? Our watch dog is a total loss . . .

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    1. Sorry Diane. The dog and cat work together now... the dog is going deaf so the cat hears something outside and alerts the dog! I sort of need ( and love ) them both! :)

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  4. Haha! My dog used to bark at the Christmas tree when she was a puppy. So cute how our animals try to protect us :)

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    1. My animals are curious about the Christmas tree, but seem to like it - I think they know a wrapped present will be coming their way a while after it arrives!

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  5. That is so adorable, I would love to have one of those for our porch but we never get trick or treaters makes me sad. Then again I don't have to spend a fortune on candy or treats. We lived in the country way out in the country for 17 years and then we moved here I thought YES finally trick or treaters. Nope not a one, I bought all of this candy which I ended up eating. Oh well, I am a Thanksgiving girl anyway,that's my favorite!

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    1. I still keep a light on and some candy ready ... just in case a trick or treater appears!

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  6. I have a big pair of "Eeyore" slippers, and when I first wore them around our new cat, she was terrified!! Her back arched high, her fur stood on end making her look three times her size, and she hissed and spit ferociously at them for the longest time. (I have to admit, I had a little fun walking toward her, teasing her!) I finally had to put them away for a while as she was just too scared!

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    1. How funny! There just really isn't any way of predicting what will upset them!

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  7. I can't recall any of our cats being terrified of our decorations....we used to lock them in the basement Halloween night for their own safety. We didn't want them getting out and perhaps being hurt.

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    1. Smart of you to lock them up. My cat is an indoor cat - and is terrified of going outside, so I don't have to worry about that for him!

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  8. Ha, how cute!

    Our cat hasn't seemed of afraid of anything yet.

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    1. My cat acts tough, but he is actually afraid of practically everything!

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