Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 231

The first of the werewolves came into view, a long-legged black one the color of the crows Tabs policed from his favorite window at home in Novato.

Slowly, Tabs crouched down low at the edge of the roof until his chin was resting on the rain gutter.

The werewolf was stalking, sniffing, its head close to the ground like a metal detector. It was in the driveway now exactly where Tabs and the gray cat had gone through. Tabs expected the wolf to pick up their scent.

It was a bright night with the full moon, and it occurred to Tabs that he was probably easy to spot where he was with the moonlight behind him, but he stayed frozen like an Egyptian statue, not daring to move a muscle.

The only thing he did do was slowly close his eyes until they were just barely open and breath steadily. Cats were good at things like this. Hiding in plain sight. But Tabs imagined that werewolves were also good at hunting.

The second one entered the driveway. This one Tabs recognized from the wooden shed back on the frozen lake, and it was huge! Bigger than the black one by half, with mottled brown and gray fur and thick, broad shoulders.

The black werewolf seemed to bow reverently and made a whining noise as the larger one approached.

Tabs couldn’t believe just how big the bigger werewolf was. Keeping perfectly still with his eyes open barely a fraction of an inch, Tabs compared the creature to the nearby pickup truck, and wagered they were almost the same size.

Or maybe that was just the terror talking…

Tabs remained motionless while the two werewolves inspected the area, following their snouts. As they exhaled, their hot breath was visible in the frigid air.

They circled the pickup truck in opposite directions, checking carefully behind the tires.

Whew! Tabs thought. Good thing I didn’t hide there.

The werewolves must have picked up the scent because they remained quiet and moved stealthily, and they were focussing a lot of attention in this area.

Minutes passed. It was so cold up there on the roof that Tabs started shivering. He desperately wanted to hop up and start moving to warm his bones, but there was no way he was about to do that.

He would just have to deal with the cold. It wouldn’t be the first time…

He thought back to all of those long, cold nights he spent fending for himself and battling for scraps on the mean streets of Mill Valley in his kitten hood. Those were some cold nights, too.

Feezing, and feeling somewhat secure that the wolves would not find him, and even if they did, would not be able to reach him on the roof, Tabs allowed his mind to wander.

He thought about his makeup collection, his coveted online kitty modeling portfolio, gravy, his favorite hill at home and his assistant…

She was actually pretty nice, he concluded, even when she got on his last nerve.

Somewhere off in the woods, a branch cracked. It wasn’t a natural sound. Tabs heard it, and the werewolves heard it, too. Both of them appeared in the driveway from wherever they’d been searching and looked in that direction, standing tall on all fours, with their heads erect and their ears perked.

“Mrrrrrrowww!” came a distant voice. Help me! Please help!

Tabs felt his heart drop. It was the gray cat.

To follow our story from the beginning…

• A RELAXING TIME: PART 1
• A RELAXING TIME: PART 2
• A RELAXING TIME: PART 3
• A RELAXING TIME: PART 4
• A RELAXING TIME: PART 5
• A RELAXING TIME: PART 6

Who is Tabs the Cat? About five years ago I befriended a stray, flea-bitten tabby cat with a bad case of worms. I could see he’d fallen on hard times, but his profound knowledge of high fashion and department store cosmetics led me to believe that he was more than meets the eye. We became fast friends, and now he’s actually my boss (and a successful kitty model). 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. To see what else acclaimed kitty supermodel Tabs the Cat has been up to over the years, check out Sundays With Tabs, the Archives: From Anastasia to Zoya.