Kiki, the Helper Cat

My cat loves to help, and she's very diligent about her responsibilities.

At various points of the day, Kiki is a kitchen cat. If anyone goes into the kitchen, surely they must need her assistance. So she takes the short-cut, darting beneath the dining room table to cut them off and rub between their legs. She's particularly keen to help any time the refrigerator door opens. Kiki sticks her head between the refrigerator and the door and makes sure you select the proper item. Also, if you're washing dishes at the sink, you can count on my cat to make a flying leap up your back to perch herself on your shoulder. She does a very good job of making sure you don't miss a step.

Kiki is also a very good laundry cat. When you head back to load the washing machine, she jumps up on top and supervises, making sure you don't forget a step. Her favorite part, however, is when the clean, dry clothes come out of the dryer. Rest assured, you will not be sorting, folding, and hanging your clothes alone. Not in my house. Kiki will rush to your rescue, jumping in the pile of clothes and making herself comfortable. Each time you select an item to fold, she'll swat at your hands until she decides that you've made an acceptable selection. If you fold and stack some pieces before they are put in a drawer, she'll snuggle up on the first one--forcing you to cover her with the next item. She's been known to stay in her cocoon of warm, dry clothes for as long as you'll leave her there.

She's also rather fond of helping put clothes away. Say, for example, you open the drawer for your PJ's. Kiki will jump in and worm herself behind the drawer. The next thing you know, she'll have rearranged the contents of your dresser. Clearly, socks did not belong in drawer #2, but are much better off in drawer #4. Silly humans.

Perhaps the thing she most likes to help with, though, is writing. Kiki especially likes it when I write on my laptop, sitting in my recliner in the living room. As soon as I sit down and pull the laptop onto my lap, Kiki jumps up and nestles between my legs (Read: forcefully shoves my legs into the position she wants them in), so that she is nice and snug, and has the exhaust from the laptop fan warming her ears. Once she's in place, the writing can commence.

Do you have pets or kids who like to "help" you with the things you do? What sort of assistance do they prefer to give?

**Originally published at Lady Scribes**