Monster under the Bed

Toby needs to work on his invisibility

                The cats created a delightful game to play on long winter days.  It’s very interactive and can be played in most rooms of the house.  The game is called “Monster under the Bed.”

                To play, a cat hides under a piece of furniture, like the bed or a chair with a slipcover.  It’s important to be hidden from everyone else.  Then the cat waits.  It can take minutes or even hours for an opponent to walk by, and even longer for it to happen when the cat is awake.

                If the cat is awake at the right moment, then the “monster” attacks in one of two ways.  The first way is a simple claw swipe at the passerby (human or feline).  The paw is withdrawn under the furniture so quickly that it is never seen.  A more complex attack involves the entire animal dashing out, making contact, then lunging back under the furniture.  This method is much harder to accomplish without getting caught, but the element of surprise acts in the attacker’s favor.  The most common mistake on the part of the attacker is leaving his tail out in plain sight after diving back under the furniture.

                The goal of the game is to score as many contact swipes as possible before getting into serious trouble.  There are bonus points awarded for screams and dropped food.

                There may be more rules and strategies but the cats haven’t told me what they are.