In Which Taz the Cat Helps Me Change My Insulin Pump
Me: Time to change the insulin pump again.
Taz: SOMETHING INTERESTING IS HAPPENING IN THE BEDROOM HOLD ON HUMAN HERE I COME!!!
Me: Peels sticker and catheter off of my belly, removes vial from pump, sets the pump, vial, and tubing on the bed.
Taz: LOOK OUT! I WILL SAVE YOU FROM THE IMPROBABLY SKINNY SNAKE THAT WAS BITING YOUR BELLY!
Me: Fills new vial.
Taz: Excuse me, human, but the snake appears to have bitten my face.
Me: Removes sticker from Taz’s face.
Taz: Ooh, this looks like an expensive piece of medical equipment. But you know what it’s missing? A CATBUTT-PRINT!
Me: Removes Taz from my insulin pump.
Taz: You appear to be getting ready to jab a needle into your belly. I shall assist by RUBBING MY FACE ON YOUR ELBOW!
Me: Thank you. Pulls out new tubing and prepares to hook it up.
Taz: THE IMPROBABLY SKINNY SNAKE HAS REINFORCEMENTS! IMMA KILL IT FOR YOU!!!
Me: Dork.
Taz: Runs away for no particular reason.
Sally
July 2, 2013 @ 11:13 pm
EVERYTHING needs The Cat Butt Seal of Approval.
Megan
July 3, 2013 @ 12:26 am
One of my cats is obsessed with insulin, I catch her licking old tubing or vials or pretty much anything that has touched insulin all the time. It makes changing my site even more exciting.
krista
July 3, 2013 @ 4:31 am
I’m writing a little comment to support Taz. That’s some quality help right there.
Jim C. Hines
July 3, 2013 @ 10:02 am
Weird. Given the smell, I can’t imagine insulin tasting terribly good…
Clay Dowling
July 3, 2013 @ 2:11 pm
I shave with a straight razor. I have owned multiple cats who are certain I need similar levels of assistance with shaving. I used to have some pretty interesting cuts before I learned to be watchful of who was interested in my elbows.
LadyCheron
July 3, 2013 @ 6:52 pm
Strangely enough, our cat Taz is ALSO very eager to help his humans, no matter if one is trying to build a computer, hang a picture, or do the laundry. And he also attacks various improbably skinny snakes – to the tune of six or seven computer / phone / ipad chargers in the last year.
Good luck, Mr. Hines. Good luck, Taz.
PsychoCat
July 4, 2013 @ 4:56 am
My late, beloved lilac-point Siamese, Data, absolutely HAD to supervise each and every insulin injection, and would yowl if I started without him! He would inspect every piece of equipment, closely observe the injection, then make off with the alcohol swab when I’d finished. He loved the smell of the damned things….Mama’s little weirdo.
Of my current fuzzbutts, Penny is the one who assists by sitting on my leg and licking my forearm during the process. Ya just gotta love the furry little deviants!
=^..^=
Em
July 4, 2013 @ 6:33 pm
My beloved idiot (he’s cute, but boy, is he ever dumb) likes to try to help me cook.
He’s very, very furry. One of these days, I tell him, I am going to set him on fire, and he is not going to like it.
PsychoCat
July 6, 2013 @ 1:37 am
Sounds like my little dingbat, Wash! He’s a gorgeous, long-haired ginger boy, but about as sharp as a bowling ball. He manages to get himself locked in the same hall closet about twice a week, frequently runs headfirst into walls, doors and windows, and has a deep-seated fear of cheese. As a kitten, he actually lost a fight to a potato….yes, a potato. He somehow got one out of the pantry, and was wrestling with it on the kitchen floor. It rolled over onto him, and he freaked out and ran away from it. Good thing he’s so damned loveable…
=^..^=
naleta
July 7, 2013 @ 5:07 pm
My gray fluffy Buddy has this thing where he pretends to bite my phone’s charging cord, or the cord to my headphones. He slides his fang tooth over the cord, not actually biting it at all. This always works to get me to pay attention to him, because I don’t want him to actually bite it. We love our feline overlords. 🙂
Sally
July 8, 2013 @ 11:42 pm
Oh, gosh, I have a beautiful but stupid kitty as well. He has no long term memory for anything except where the food is supposed to be. And that might just be from scent, not actually remembering. Every time our friends come over, he has to be coaxed from under the couch and introduced again. If we are gone for more than four days, he forgets who WE are.
But he’s always willing to “help”. He just put a paw over my screen.
Jim C. Hines
July 10, 2013 @ 10:17 pm
The spammers have picked this post to be their extra-special new best friend, so I’m closing comments to shut them up.