Hardware, Paint and Kittens.

PETA one of two store kitties.

I love going to my local hardware store.  My heart beat increases and I get excited like a little boy whose mother has promised him a trip to the toy store.  

Yes, I know I am dating myself.  There used to be a time when there actually were stores that offered nothing but toys.    Now, I don't dream about going to my hardware store because I have some unnatural attraction to the broom aisle, and I am not secretly sniffing the pain thinner. Nor do I use the pretense of buying another bird feeder as an excuse to visit my favorite place.  However, I can easily find a need to darken the doors of my local establishment.

Why? you ask.  Well, you could say the sign is  on the door, and it actually is.  As you proceed to enter,  prominently  displayed on the door is  a sheet of paper with an image of a black cat upon it with the warning that if you have a dog you must keep it in a shopping cart.  You see my local Ace Hardware,  as do all of its sister stores in this town, have cats who live within the store,  and they hold a position of priority over any visiting pooch.

So whether I'm there for paint or a handful of nails, once I step inside my focus shifts.  My eyes immediately scan around for my store kitties, Carl, a solid black fellow, who is about four years old,  PETA, a snowshoe tuxedo about eight months old.  Both cuties rescued as strays by the pet loving staff of the store.  Carl can be the most elusive of the pair.  Sometimes I won't see him at all, however, later as I'm shopping I'll suddenly give a little jump as I discover him laying sound asleep curled up among the pipe fittings or boxes of trash can liners.  

On occasion Carl will feel the desire to assist the girls at the check out stand.  He will lay nonchalantly on the counter giving a paltry sniff at the purchases being piled around him and on occasion offering a lazy slap at a trailing receipt as its passed from cashier to customer.

PETA getting some help with a lost toy.

PETA is normally the easiest to find because she has established her area of preference.  Entering the store, I will immediately make a left and head for the corner of the store where the lawn furniture is displayed.  I will quietly move among the patio chairs and hammocks my eyes scanning for my small furry friend.  I can normally find PETA curled up sound asleep and comfortable among some pillows or cushions.  She usually doesn't mind waking up for a moment to let me stroke under her chin or scratch her ears.  Then as easily as a breeze blows she is back asleep dreaming about chasing mice and stalking birds.

Still being a kitten, PETA displays more of a playful nature then Carl. On a recent evening PETA dominated the near empty store as she raced at break neck speed up and down the main aisle, smacking a small plastic cap around like a hockey puck.  At one point her antics came to a sudden halt when her toy became stuck under a cooler display and out of her reach.  Fortunately for her, a store employee who had been calmly watching the show retrieved it and the festivities began anew.  On another evening for reasons known only to PETA, she chose to stalk me around the store.  As I selected a new faucet she lay flattened on the floor, only her ears and eyes peeking around the corner of the aisle.  Moments later I found her peering at me as she lay hidden in the foliage of an artificial plant.  As I moved past her  PETA suddenly pounced.  Springing onto her rear legs she gave me a double paw "tag" and then bouncing sideways as cats are known to do, performed a victory lap around a display of sun screen before disappearing out of sight down the paint aisle.

There are a lot of hardware stores in this town that I could choose to visit but I'll stay shopping at this one.  The staff are friendly, the prices are good and you never know what you'll find curled up asleep and purring quietly on a shelf in the plumbing section.

Have a purrable day.

Nick