An unsuspecting Watson is ambushed by Dexter. Unsolicited grooming and a rumble ensues. It’s sort of like West Side Story but with cats and water glasses.

Perhaps I should rename my personal blog to XoXo, Watson instead of XoXo, Erin? This site is quickly turning into an ode to all things kitten, but I just can’t help myself. As you may recall over the last few weeks I’ve mentioned having some Watson related frustrations. Well I’ve seriously chilled about Mr. Kitten. Unfortunately the catalyst of my new found calm and serenity was that I thought he was dead.

Last Wednesday was my birthday and I spent the day with my cousin Amanda sitting by her pool and burning my chest into a lovely shade of pink. The central air in our apartment was on the fritz so the maintenance supervisor called a technician to come over and take a look at it while both Chris and I were away.

When I got home that afternoon I couldn’t find Watson anywhere. Usually as soon as we open the door he’s tangled up in our feet purring and tripping us in excitement. I wandered around the house calling his name and still he didn’t appear. I looked under the couch, the beds, in cupboards and closets but Watson was no where to be found. I started to freak out at this point. I was convinced that the technician must have let the kitten out accidentally. I frantically tried to call CK, but it went straight to voicemail. I decided that I had to go find the maintenance man to see if he remembered telling the tech that we had a kitten, and just as I got my shoes back on guess who appeared out of nowhere in the door of our bedroom yawning and stretching?

I was so shocked and relieved that I sat down on the floor and cried. I’m not even kidding. I really did think he was lost, or dead and all I could think about was how much I had complained about him over the last week and how much of a bad person I was and on and on.

After I got myself back together I started to wonder where on earth Watson had been sleeping. I seriously tore the house apart looking for him so where had he been hiding? Well on Saturday the kitten disappeared again. This time CK and I knew he was in the house somewhere so after searching high and low I decided to station CK in one area of the apartment and I stood in the hallway outside our bedroom, then I banged on Watson’s food dish with a fork.

At first nothing happened, but then I saw a rustling on our bed. The comforter rose up and a small form moved underneath the bedding and out popped Watson. Apparently Watson has taken to sleeping not only on our bed but in it too. So now we have to be extra careful not to inadvertently sit on the kitten in case he’s decided to take up residence in his new hiding space again. That’s our kitty…

By the way, the video above is Watson’s reaction to my talking Kipper stuffed toy. I wish I had captured his original encounter with Kipper because he hissed at it, puffed his tail, and ran away, but it’s still cute to see him bat at the English doggy’s nose.

Watson associates the pet carrier with the Vet and can’t be persuaded to go inside on his own even when his favorite new toy, the laser pointer, beckons him to follow.

Bear, or Dean Bearchester, as CK and I refer to him as a sort of homage to Supernatural, has quickly become Watson’s favorite toy. He drags him around all over the house and we often find bear in all sorts of strange places. When Watson falls asleep in his kitten bed I like to tuck him in and set bear in between his little arms. It’s just such an adorable sight.

Dean Bearchester isn’t just a cute fluffy bear though. He’s also the primary “equipment” in Watson’s new maniacal exercise routine. Check out the video below for some of his high flying antics.

Also, in case you missed it, Watson was featured on The Daily Kitten this week. He’s such a prima donna now. It’s all Evian in his water dish and organic free-range chicken at dinner time.