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June 19, 2005

Kismet's Rug

At last, I have some updates on Kismet for those of you who are interested. As most of us are aware, Kismet has chosen me to be his lifelong mate, or at least until someone better comes along. He has recently entered into some sort of nesting phase, and he roams the house looking for the optimal home for our babies. I have tried explaining that I won't fit into most of the nests he picks out, but to no avail: his favorite locations are usually under beds or in impossibly cramped corners.

Naturally, Kisi is very protective of all of his potential nests, and he sometimes forgets what he is doing and scares me away. His bites can actually get pretty viscious when he decides that he's protecting his unborn offspring. The common denominator for these nests seems to be carpet, as he has an unusually strong attraction to any type of carpet on the ground.

We have an industrial-strength floor mat in the entryway of our house, and whenever Kismet happens to be on the kitchen floor, he usually finds his way over to this carpet near the door. One afternoon, my father came over to pick me up, and I didn't hear him walk inside. Since Kismet's cage was in the kitchen at the time, Kismet apparently decided that my dad wasn't worthy to be standing on his newlyfound nest. So, Kismet climbed down off of his cage onto the floor, and swiftly ran (or at least, tripped over his feet in a fast-paced manner) to bite my father's shoes. Now, if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, the most important thing to remember is to never try to pick Kismet up. Because as protective as he is against your feet, he is even more protective against a hand offered in his general direction. My father was not yet aware of this warning, so he tried to return Kisi to his cage and was promptly bitten and chased further away from the floormat.

Kisi's nesting habits have become the daily standard around the house, so Mom, Anna, and I have become aware of the potential locations for Kismet's viscious attacks. We're not sure if this nesting behavior is just a phase, or if Kismet has developed a permanent affinity for small, dark, carpeted spaces, but I will be sure to keep you posted on any change in his behavior...

Posted by rgutwin at 10:31 AM | Comments (1)