Nathan Alan Willoughby and How He Fought Boredom

Edie came home from work and found Nathan Alan Willoughby laying on the couch. She noted that this was the exact spot he'd assumed when she left that morning. "Have you even moved?" The cat rolled off his back to stare at Edie. He blinked at her slowly.

"We need to find something for you to do. On a daily basis, all you do is help me with the crossword puzzle. And you're not even good at those." She walked to the table and arranged the daily newspaper to the correct page. Nathan Alan Willoughby jumped off the couch, ambled over to the table and jumped up by Edie. He reclined on his side, over the paper, and blinked at her again.

Edie rubbed his furry, and rather enormous, belly. Nathan Alan Willoughby purred. This was the best part of their day. Despite her concerned expression, there was no apparent reason for things to change. This routine worked just right in the cat's eyes.

The next morning as Edie left the apartment, she turned the television to the music channels. "Here, listen to zumba while I'm gone. Feel free to dance." Edie left and Nathan Alan Willoughby looked from the closed door to the television. There was something interesting about this, but it wasn't the thumping back beat.

The cat ambled to the television and watched as a small graphic bounced around the screen. If he could read, he would have known this was the name of the song and artist. Of course, to a cat, it appeared to be an intriguing shape that needed to be stalked and captured.

A mere nine hours later, the door opened and Edie tossed her backpack on a chair. Nathan Alan Willoughby was not on the couch. As she heard the music blaring, "Your Cell Phone Makes Me Crazy" she noticed paw prints all over the television. Nathan Alan Willoughby's front paws were tracking the graphic. His eyes were wild and a tiny bit of saliva was at the corners of his mouth.

Edie gasped and turned off the television. It took two whole minutes for the cat to stop staring at the screen, convincing him the elusive shape was gone for good. "I think I've created a monster. A dehydrated one." She picked up all twenty pounds of the cat and took him into the kitchen, setting him in front of his water bowl.

He was certainly lethargic. Eventually, he seemed to snap out of his stupor, focusing on the food Edie had put in his bowl and drinking an impressive amount of water.

Edie sighed, "It seemed like a good idea at the time." She tilted her head to the side, "But maybe you lost a pound."