Curo Chan

Hi. My name is Curo Chan, which means “little black face”. I am a genuine Siamese cat and live at Washington Heights Air Force Base in Tokyo, Japan. I live with Daniel San, the dad, Vivian San, the mom, and Sheila Chan, the kid. I have tried to see the whole base, but the family gets all upset and then the animal catcher comes after me. Then, Vivian and Sheila trek on down to the pound, daily, to try and find me. One time, they even brought home the wrong cat! Good grief! You’d think they would know me, by now. Anyway, Vivian San finally tethered me to an outside bush and kept me there for hours. My only defense was from Sheila Chan who felt bad for me and finally convinced Mama Chan to let me go. Thank goodness. I almost died from heat exhaustion.

What can I say; I am adventuresome, like the day I noticed the living room curtains. They were irresistibly swaying in the breeze. I couldn’t help myself and took a little leap off the top of the couch, sinking my claws into the silky fabric, while I swung back and forth, back and forth. But then, I quickly realized I could not break free! Whoa, whoa! Here I am terrified and Sheila Chan breaks into hysterical laughter. Thank goodness Mama San came to my rescue. I was still swinging when she came into the room. “Why did you let the cat do that, Sheila?” “I didn’t, he did it himself,” I said, giggling. Looking at me, piteously, Mama San calmly took me down and I ran off to hide. Sheila Chan was given a lecture about the value of the drapes and how Mama San needed her cooperation around the house. “Yes, p-l-e-a-s-e!” I thought.

And then, there was the Thanksgiving turkey. Mama San had put a large, very large naked bird on the kitchen counter. The raw scent had me pacing the kitchen floor, like a stalking lion. Mama quickly caught on, so she decided to tie me up to the coffee table, in the living room. Sheila Chan, remembering my previous suffering, cried,”Oh, poor Curo Chan. Please don’t tie him up, Mommy.” “He is not outside, Sheila. He is nice and cool in the living room and I will be right back. I have to buy something from the commissary. Promise me you won’t untie him, until I get back.” “Ok, I promise.” So, was I surprised that, as soon as Mama San left, Sheila Chan untied me!!! Elated, I ran to the kitchen, leaped onto the counter, then climbed onto the fantastic bird, sinking my claws into the white meat. “Me-ow-wow-wow,” I howled as I tried to take a bite of this icy meat. Then, still in ecstacy, I felt Sheila Chan’s hands trying to lift me off the bird! What was she doing! No, I thought, I must have some of this meat! Then, she started screaming, “Help, help! I can’t get Curo Chan off the turkey!” Before I knew it, our maid, Michiko, came running into the kitchen. She picked me right off the bird, and unto the floor. Bah, the bird was frozen solid, anyway. How could I have known…. Sheila Chan, on the other hand, must have been in some real trouble ’cause she ended up hiding under her bed for a long time. Thought it best to leave her alone.

I really am NOT a troublemaker, but there was a beautiful, black, teakwood planter with a delightful green plant, in the dining room. The dirt in the pot was soft and black. I loved climbing in there, scratching a hole, and making a deposit. Wonderful! We had a indoor toilet! So convenient! But, wait! Mama San was picking me up by the scruff of the neck and rubbing my nose in the mess. Then, she threw me outside!!! How humiliating!! It took me a good while to get myself clean but, to spite her, I was determined to do this, again. After several tries and several times of getting a “nose-full”, I finally gave up. Mama San threw out the plant, anyway. Then, I thought of another plan. I began to notice the oriental rug in the dining room could be flipped up and back over, again. Much to my delight, I found my new “deposit” spot. Except for the flipped up fringe and the smell, it might have been a great latrine, but Mama San noticed and, as upset as she was, she finally broke down and bought me a litter box. Nice!

Things calmed down and everyone was happy but, one night…. My family had gone out for the evening and, when they returned, they had quite a surprise waiting for them. My family had adopted the Japanese custom taking off their shoes when they entered a house. As Daniel San took off his shoes and started to walk around , he could feel something spongy under his stocking feet. “Do you feel anything strange?” he asked. “Yeah, what IS that?” said Mama San, as she picked up her feet. “Do you feel anything, Sheila?” The light in the living room hadn’t been turned on so they had to rely on what they were “feeling”, not “seeing”. As this was going on, I was NOWHERE to be seen as I feared my rambunctiousness would lead me into big trouble. Finally, Daniel San turned on the light and everyone burst into hilarious laughter! Earlier, I had found a loaf of bread and had shredded the whole thing all over the living room floor. The more bread they found, the more they doubled over, laughing. And instead of being mad at me, they seemed to think I was a pretty humorous cat.

So now, when everyone has settled for the night, I feel it is safe to come out and lay in Daniel San’s lap. “Purr, purr, ” I murmur, as Daniel strokes my light brown fur. Maybe I’m not such a bad cat, after all.