There are many bonuses to Leonard becoming a house cat once again....he's excellent company for a start - a well behaved boy and utterly adorable; his happy little face is enough to brighten even the grottiest of days; he's a patient listener and never criticises my singing or judges my rants... he's quite the little star.
The MAIN benefits of having Leonard locked up firmly indoors, however, are the distinct lack of headless, fat-bottomed rodents deposited underfoot and the absence of a need to check every inch of him for warrior's wounds, random holes and missing bits thanks to his continuing belief that he is, in fact, a lion of Herculean proportions.
He's terrified of fireworks, thunder and the rumble of the bin collections. He has a weird aversion to brushes and brooms. He's perpetually disconcerted by the inevitability of Thanos spiders and he is STILL intimidated by the chickens who berate him for disturbing their tea and scones and distracting them from their crochet. He will, on the other hand, take on rabid gangs of murderous bears, rampaging gorillas, herds of stampeding elephants, invading aliens and zombie hordes with not a flinch. He has no concept of limitations due to his size or species and will take on any adversary with what amounts to legendary gusto.
Now anchored to his castle grounds our Knight of the Golden Biscuit has been forced to turn his aggressions on Mr Shroo, his favourite pink ribbony mousey-onna-stick which is proving to be an admirable and formidable nemesis. For now, the boxing gloves are shelved, but the claws remain razor sharp and ready should wandering yeti barge through the ramparts with murderous intent.
House kitty Leonard is the eternal guardian. Cuddly fluff-butt curled up with whiskers a-twitch, lulling the world of monsters and demons into a false sense of security with his wake-up drool face and savagely adorable little pink nosey.
For now, at least, the lion soundly sleeps.....
