Whatnot Wednesday: Cat Seeds

Posted on by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

Velma: What’s Daphne doing?

Welcome, everyone.  To write these Whatnot Wednesday posts, I let my mind meander down a path of diverse but related subjects.  The Scoobies are indoor cats, so I decided to give them a plant. That’s when they took over this post.  Velma didn’t give a mouse’s butt, but Daphne went cray-cray for it.

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Helpful Links

I’ve done a lot of feline research, but I double checked what plants are safe, just in case anything had changed.  Here are two important links:

More about Catnip

Veterinary List of Toxic Plants for Cats

ASPCA Animal Poison Control page with images and articles

Animal Poison Control Center Phone Number:
(888) 426-4435

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The Scoobies’ Opinion

Daphne: This isn’t kibble, but it smells like something I want to nibble.

Daphne was immediately intrigued by the basil plant and went from sniff to snack.  Velma was only interested in finding out what fascinated her litter-mate.  The smaller Scooby quickly lost interest.

Velma: I really don’t understand the attraction. No meat, no cheese?

Daphne nibbles it daily.  The outlook for the basil plant is not good…

Daphne chomping basil, 03-21-2024

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My meandering mind wandered back to this story.  I actually wrote it for Valentine’s Day 2021, but what the heck.  It’s a whatnot so why not?

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Cat Seeds, a Short Story

Joel Santana at Pixabay
Joel Santana at Pixabay

“Did they grow yet, Auntie?” demanded my exuberant niece as she barreled through the doorway.

“It’s nice to see you too, Sweetpea.  I take it your mom doesn’t have time to come in,” I replied in a sardonic voice.

I gave my sister a quick hug where she stood with one foot on the threshold and the other still outside.  A spa day was my gift to her.  A day with my niece was her gift to me.

My niece had been dejected that the excitement of Christmas was over.  She complained that the magic was gone.  She was sure Rudolph had put all the magic in Santa’s sleigh and taken it back to the North Pole.  So, I told her that Valentine’s Day had magic too.

The next day, she talked her mom into bringing her back.  She spent the day playing in my little garden.  Later we found her, trowel in hand and covered in dirt.

“Auntie, I wanted you to have Valentine magic, but nothing happened,” she had complained.

I had thought she was only playing in the dirt.  Yet two weeks later, there she was, running to the garden where she had gotten into such a mess.

“Sweetpea, your mom will be mad at me if you get covered in dirt again,” I called out a caution.

She stopped, halfway out the French doors.  The look she gave me was a combination of impatience and annoyance, a particular kind of exasperation that only adults could cause.

“Auntie, you said no to everything at the animal ‘doption — even the big bunny rabbit!  But I wanted you to have a furry friend.  I wanted you to have Valentine’s magic!” she exclaimed.

“Honey, I know it’s hard to understand what grownups want or need when you’re little, but—” I started.

“If you won’t ‘dopt one, then maybe you’ll like one better if we grow it.  So, I planted all the seeds last time I was here,” she tried to explain.  “I planted seeds for catnip, pussy willow, and a root thing for tiger lily.  And I ast Alexa when the new moon was, to make sure I planted then, ‘cause I ‘membered about it making things grow.”

My heart melted that she tried to plant some sort of childish magic for me.  Inwardly, I cringed to think how disappointed she would be when nothing grew.  Maybe I could buy a tiger lily and put it where she had made her attempt.  Although, that wouldn’t be any immediate consolation.

“Your seeds wouldn’t have time to grow yet,” I told her, deciding that I would buy the prettiest tiger lily in town.

“But it’s magic!” she insisted and grabbed my hand.

My niece pulled me toward the neglected corner of the garden, behind an umbrella table that was covered for the winter.  She led me to a window box planter that I never got around to installing.  It was bright red with white hearts.

It looked like she had put some dry grass and gray moss in the planter. 

Then it moved.

The child shrieked with delight.

“I told you.  I told you!  It’s the Valentine magic!” she cried.

Melinda Rozsa at Pixabay
Melinda Rozsa at Pixabay

A big gray striped cat stood up in the flower box.  It stretched languidly and then walked over to us.

“See, the cat seeds were magic,” she said, cuddling the cat.

“Sweetpea… the cat didn’t grow from your seeds,” I tried to explain gently.

“Yes it did!  Your garden is on the tenth floor!  It’s on a about’cony.  You don’t think the cat flew up here do you?” she challenged.  “Grownups are so silly sometimes.”

The end.

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Here’s a feline teaser.  The Dealer’s cat, Sir Reginald La Felin, insisted on joining this post.  The Delta Pearl: A Steampunk Riverboat is on the way.

Sir Reginald La Felin. CGI by Teagan via Playground

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How do journals fit with this assortment of feline whatnots?

Fe-lines, a Journal with Feline Quotes

Of course, there’s the obligatory shameless self-promotion.  Among my non-fiction work is a journal I made with a good number of photos of famous people and their cats.  It also has lots feline quotes, but the pages are mostly blank so there’s still plenty of room for writing.

A Journal composed by Teagan R. Geneviene
Journal composed by Teagan R. Geneviene

Paperback only:  relinks.me/B09RG5KBJC

REVIEWS

Rebecca Budd did a review of it for her one of her blogs.  She even made a video.  Here’s a link to that On the Road Book Club.

From D. L. Finn: 

I was excited to see a journal with cats and cat quotes. I am always looking for places to record my poetry, so being a cat-lover, I quickly bought this journal. “Fe-Lines” would also be a good place to write about your health, emotions, or cat interactions. I loved all the quotes and a picture every few pages. I appreciated a place to put my positive thoughts and at the end, there were pages to write about your own cat if you chose to do so. There are a lot of options with this fun little journal. If you are a fan of cats and love journals, this would be the perfect fit for you. I know I’m going to enjoy using it!

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Thanks for reading.  Friendly comments are encouraged.

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This is a work of fiction.  Characters, names, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. 

Copyright © 2021 and 2024 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene. 

Rowboat photo Copyright © Dan Antion

All rights reserved. 

No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.  Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

All images are either the property of the author or used with permission, or from free sources.

63 thoughts on “Whatnot Wednesday: Cat Seeds”

  1. You know I absolutely adored this. That’s so funny that Daphne eats the basil. I grow it every summer, and Bond is like Velma. He might have sniffed, but then moved on. Hugs to you and the Scoobies, Teagan!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  5. I love your Cat Seeds! True story: I was in the garden one day — we live in the country, at least 5000 yards from the nearest house — near our peach tree. I heard a tiny mew and a tiny thump and … there was a TINY kitten on the ground where no kitten had been before the thump. If she had been orange, I would have thought she was a peach! She lived to be 18.

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    1. Thanks, Resa. Daphne & Velma send you loud purrs.
      Maybe. Or maybe it belongs to new neighbor who becomes a good friend because of the cat.
      Or maybe it jumps through an interdimensional portal in that flowerpot to go back home. Whatever makes a happy ending for the reader and the cat. Hugs winging back to you.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. It’s good to see you, Bruce. Daphne and Velma are so funny about being do different in what they like or dislike. However, they both get excited whenever I open the bottle of valerian root supplements. (The stuff stinks to high heaven.) Sometimes I open a capsule and dust a tiny amount onto a toy for them. Although, it is supposed to be safe for cats, and sometimes valerian is blended with catnip. But I’m over-cautious with the powder. Thanks for visiting. Hugs.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  10. HI Teagan, it is interesting that Daphne is so curious about the basil. My Push-Push is asleep on her favourite chair in my office. I’ve had to work from home due to a bad stomach bug. She’ll be upset when I go back into the office next week.

    I really like this story, it is lovely and uplifting.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Hi, Liz. Both catnip and basil are in the Lamiaceae plant family. So is mint, although the oils in mint can be very harmful to cats. Still, they would have to eat *a lot* of mint, particularly if just the leaves, for it to be toxic. Thanks for visiting. Hugs.

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  12. When I lived in the garden floor of a brownstone, the neighbor’s cats ate all the dill I tried to grow–who knew? I love the smell of basil, so Daphne’s got good taste in my opinion.

    I do wonder how that cat got onto the balcony…but some are very very good climbers. Still magic strikes me as a better option. (K)

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    1. LOL, I’m rather fond of the magic option too, Kerfe. I like the aroma of basil too. I figured if neither of the cats were interested, then I’d use it myself. A long time ago I had a cat who would mow down spider plants to nubs. Thanks for reading and commenting. Hugs.

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  14. Very good to check what plants are okay for cats to eat. Interesting about the basil! I do like hearing about your little kitties!

    The Cat Seeds story is so good! It was magic, it just had to have been. ❤

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  16. This was delightful! My heart is full now. 🙂

    And Velma and Daphne are so cute. lol When I got a plant, Cesare ignored it and Josie-Pye dug up the plant, threw it on the floor, then did her business in the dirt. Not cool. LOLOLOL

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Many thanks, Jan. It’s always “go figure” with cats. Daphne wouldn’t have anything to do with dried catnip. Although I had just opened it and the aroma was very strong — she has a terribly sensitive nose. When I got a whiff of the basil, I was doubtful that she’d have anything to do with it, but she continues to nibble. I’m not sure that she actually eats any of it though. I find chewed leaves that she spat out. LOL. Hugs.

      Liked by 1 person

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  18. Garfield likes peace lilies but maybe I should introduce him to basil. I love this post because I love, love cats. Your whatnots are great. We are waiting to see if we can adopt a little female Manx mix who just had a litter of kittens – to keep Garfie company.

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  19. It’s funny how one cat will love a plant and the other not care in the least. All of our cats like catnip. G&G love grazing on grass and Spunk loves green beans. Fe Line quotes sounds like fun.

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    1. Yeah, it really is funny, Tim. Daphne is the first cat I’ve had who dislikes catnip. However, she has a very sensitive nose, and the catnip I had just opened was very strong.
      It was fun to make that journal. I put a quote at the bottom of each page. Here and there are photos of famous people with their cat. One of my favorites is of Ertha Kitt. Have a cat-tastic rest of the week. Hugs.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  21. This was a nice way to ease into the uphill climb of Wednesday morning, Teagan. Count yourself luck that Daphne will settle for a nibble-a-day. The last time we planted seeds for our cat Oreo (our first cat) tore up the sprouts, dug out the seeds and knocked the dirt all over the kitchen floor. He destroyed every plant we ever bought.

    I love that little story, and it’s always good to see the girls. I hope you have a great rest of the week,.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Ha! That’s exactly what Crystal did as a kitten. I half expected the Scoobies to do something similar, but after a couple of weeks, neither has tried to dig it up.
      Thanks for the good wish. I have more back pain than usual this week, so I think I’m going to take it “easy” today (a load of laundry and that’s it for household chores). Hugs.

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. That’s a good plan. It has been raining all day here, and the temperature has been dropping. It seemed like a good day to do nothing,

        Cat’s are funny. I like how sisters can be so different in their choice of what’s interesting.

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  23. A fun collection of catty goodies! Interesting how Daphne enjoys the basil, but Velma doesn’t go for it. I confess that when I saw the photo of Daphne nibbling basil, I wanted to snip off several basil leaves and eat them with tomato slices and mozzarella 🙂 Also, I enjoyed your short story. Love the imagination of a child to believe the seeds sprouted the cat in the flower pot!

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Ooo, now that sounds tasty, Dave. I didn’t have much to choose from when I got the basil plant. Actually, I figured that if neither of them was interested, I could always use it myself. Daphne and Velma are hugely different in what they like. Sometimes it’s hard to believe they’re from the same litter. Thanks for your feedback about the story. Hugs.

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  24. I remembered your gorgeous journal, but not the story. It’s delightful. What a treat! And thanks for the update on the scoobies. And I’m sure you’re right. The plant is unlikely to survive Daphne’s attention for long… Oh, well! Big hugs to you and love to Daphne and Velma. ♥

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