Cat:1 Me: 0

Now, as I've said before, Monster is a cat of strong loves, but not the sharpest of intellect.

He loves three things - boxes, bugs and blankets. (Especially and still, his BOXWITHWATER!)

I've given in on the BOXWITHWATER; I know when I've lost a battle. But the cats still are not allowed on the counter top. Unless, of course, they are on their way to or from the sink. I have my rules, and the cats know what they are!

This past weekend, I was working on installing the backsplash for the stove, and covered the cooktop with a towel to protect it from falling debris. After I finished the tile work, I tossed the towel aside onto the counter top.

Monster saw it and immediately settled in. "Blanket!"

A blanket is any item of cloth that's been tossed onto a horizontal surface, especially my bed. As soon as I lay something down, he walks over to it with a gleam in his eye. He sniffs to make sure it's not contaminated, then steps lovingly onto it. He circles a time or two, then settles his not-inconsiderable bulk carefully and directly onto the center of the cloth. Settled, he favors the room with a look of intense satisfaction and radiates contentment. "Blanket!" (His favorites are the dark colored items. "I see you have a dark thing which has no white hairs upon its surface. Here. Let me help.")

Well, blanket or not, the towel was still on the counter, and I chased him off. The minute I turned around, he hopped back up on the towel again. I chased him off again. Again, the minute my attention was elsewhere, he hopped back up on the towel. This time, when I tried to chase him off, he resisted mightily. "Blanket! I'm allowed on my blanket!" Undeterred, I picked him up and dumped him on the floor. As soon as I stepped away, he was back up there. "Not counter. Blanket!"

I gave up. I let him sit on the nasty dirty towel until I got around to bringing it up to the laundry.

But he's still not allowed on the counter. I'm holding my ground!