Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 285 - Chapter 285 Chapter 278 All Cats Are Hua Crazy

Chapter 285: Chapter 278: All Cats Are ‘Hua Crazy Chapter 285: Chapter 278: All Cats Are ‘Hua Crazy After the tapping stopped over the phone, Liu Ba was planning to reply using the same method, but before he could tap, the other end of the line hung up.

Listening to the dial tone, Liu Ba chuckled and said to Jing Gui, “This mysterious expert really has some skills, he even gets this stuff.”

In fact, this was just something Zheng Tan thought of doing spontaneously, since he couldn’t talk. Before that, whether it was Teacher Xiao Bai or the case with the lost dog, when Zheng Tan had used this method, others would likely think he was just playing around with them, with a high chance they wouldn’t understand it. However, Liu Ba, who was broad in expertise and wise in keeping things back, understood quite a bit, which is why Zheng Tan decided to give it a try. Earlier, when he was tapping on a picked-up metal piece, the other party didn’t interrupt him, suggesting that they might have understood.

Since they understood, Zheng Tan decided not to say more. He hung up the phone, turned off his mobile, and left. He resolved to keep his phone off for the next few days. If Liu Ba wanted to continue using his harassment tactics, he’d let him. Can’t I just avoid trouble if I can’t deal with it?

Out of sight, out of mind. Since his mood had finally improved after Youzi’s mom left, Zheng Tan didn’t want to be upset because of someone crazy like Liu Ba.

After wandering around, playing fetch with the Shepherd owned by the guard at the side gate, Zheng Tan started walking back. He didn’t head straight back to the courtyard, but instead took a meandering route along the way.

When he arrived at Old Man Lan’s small flower bed, Zheng Tan jumped onto the fence and looked inside, spotting the sheriff squatting next to an orchid, focused on chewing the flowers.

Initially, Zheng Tan was worried that the sheriff chewing on orchids too much might lead to trouble. However, seeing that it occasionally vomited some fur balls and defecated in a large flower pot with just soil and no plants, and the rest of the time acted frisky and untroubled, Zheng Tan decided not to bother with it.

A few days ago, this orchid had three blossoms, but now not a single one remained. The surrounding leaves had also been nibbled, many showing bite marks. As for that day when Old Man Lan, in front of his old buddies, blamed Zheng Tan for the chewed flowers, Old Man Lan was always persistent in unfairly accusing Zheng Tan.

It’s not like the sheriff’s home hadn’t grown plants before; they even had a pot specifically for cat grass, but the ungrateful creature would nibble at it noncommittally a few times and then lose interest. Zheng Tan had heard the sheriff’s owner complain about this several times to Jiao Ma. It was unclear if it was due to the cat grass or the sheriff’s own issues, but Zheng Tan felt it was probably the latter.

Zheng Tan used to think the sheriff had the spirit of a dog inside him. It would bark, be aggressive, fight with the courtyard’s little Pekingese and Chihuahuas, and other than Zhuangzhuang, it was on good terms with all other dogs in the courtyard. Now, Zheng Tan also frequently found it chewing on plants, munching on orchid leaves as if it were a rabbit.

Someone once said, if there were an animal in this world that finds flowers so beautiful, so fragrant, and desires to devour them entirely, it must undoubtedly be a cat.

Actually, many cats are “flower crazy,” such as the sheriff.

Last week, Zheng Tan had heard from Jiao Ma about a colleague of hers who also had a cat. One day, her colleague’s husband brought her a bouquet of flowers for their wedding anniversary. Her colleague’s cat eagerly ran over and buried half its head in the bouquet to lick it, unstoppable.

People who don’t keep cats generally don’t pay attention to a cat’s obsession with flowers, and even those who do might not notice whether their cats like to eat flowers. Cats are carnivores, that’s for sure, but sometimes you can see them nibbling on grass in the bushes when they are out for a walk, which people attribute to the cats’ self-preservation – inducing vomiting. Apart from Zheng Tan, who is an exceptional case, and some special species and individual cats, the majority spend a lot of their time licking their fur, forming hairballs in their stomachs. Some non-toxic fiber-rich plants can stimulate their intestines and make them vomit the hairballs. However, sometimes people overlook certain things, such as eating some plants can make them sick.

Many plants are poisonous to cats, such as castor seeds, cuckoo, Lily of the Valley, Chrysanthemum, oleander, hydrangea, etc., though their toxicity varies in degree. Different cats might have different preferences and tolerances. Some cat-enthusiast researchers are particularly cautious about plants from the lily family. Perhaps lily family plants are not a big deal for humans, but they can make cats seriously ill. According to veterinarians and toxicologists, lily family plants are a major cause of acute renal failure in cats.

Zheng Tan heard about this while listening to some old men in the courtyard, and Old Man Lan had also noticed the flowers in the small flower bed outside without any fencing. He discovered the sheriff nibbling on just a few types of flowers, especially orchids, which weren’t listed as dangerous to cats, so later he stopped worrying about it. Cats are difficult to restrain, especially one like the sheriff who had been roaming free for years.

The sheriff spent his days roaming outdoors, and judging by his behavior, he probably nibbled on numerous flowers while wandering around the campus, but he never seemed to get sick from it. That suggested he hadn’t been nibbling on those flowers that were dangerous for him. As for the orchids, considering how many he had eaten, he should be… okay, right? However, cats are carnivores after all, and too much nibbling might not be good. Everything should be in moderation.

Cats are one of the animals most prone to courting death, always curious about the world and repeatedly courting disaster without learning from their experiences. Even the widely considered “dumb” sled dogs are no match for them. Many flowers and plants might cause cats to vomit, convulse, suffer liver failure, or even die, but these “flower-crazy” fools just refuse to learn from their mistakes, repeatedly getting hurt time and again.

Some say that cats like flowers because of their sweet taste, but others scoff at this idea. A large amount of research and reports have shown that cats have lost their ability to digest carbohydrates during their evolution and cannot taste sweetness. As for why they consistently indulge in “flower madness,” opinions vary.

Zheng Tan had once smelled many types of orchids at Mr. Lan’s house, which had many. To Zheng Tan, he couldn’t sense much attraction to these flowers, so he could only conclude that his tastes differed from the sheriff’s.

When Zheng Tan looked again, the sheriff had stopped nibbling on flowers and had begun to defecate in the big flower pot where he usually pooped. Zheng Tan immediately jumped down from the small flower bed’s enclosing wall and left. He did not want to take the blame for the sheriff, even though Mr. Lan knew Zheng Tan was innocent. But there were other people in the small flower bed area who might not think the same. It was better to let the sheriff bear the responsibility for defecating and eating flowers.

Back at home, Zheng Tan looked at the photo on the bedside table in the master bedroom and felt unusually happy.

When Zheng Tan had first arrived, the photo on the bedside table in the master bedroom had only three people, Mr. Jiao, Jiao Ma, and Jiao Yuan. Now it had been replaced with a photo of four people plus one cat, adding Little Youzi and Zheng Tan. A family of five.

The atmosphere at the Jiao family had been quite good for the past few days, the crisis was averted, and it was certain that Little Youzi wouldn’t leave with her mom. Jiao Yuan had started to show off again recently, showing no signs of the tension typical of a ninth-grade student. However, there really was no need for tension, not only because Jiao Yuan’s grades were already good, but even if the grades weren’t ideal, they were bound to attend Chuhua University Affiliated Middle School for high school, where many children of Chuhua University faculty members received some preferential treatment.

After dinner, Mr. Jiao went out to the courtyard to busy himself. Jiao Ma was cleaning, Jiao Yuan still didn’t go to the evening self-study, and at home, he was flipping through some magazines Mr. Jiao had subscribed to. Zheng Tan was sitting on the sofa, watching TV with Little Youzi.

“Hey, Youzi, this article says that wearing metal-framed glasses can lead to a significant increase in the rate of radiation absorption by human bodies from mobile phone antennas, and the absorption rate by human eyes can even double… What do you think, is this true or false?” Jiao Yuan asked.

Little Youzi thought for a while, then shook her head, “I don’t know about this.”

“Hmm, I’ll discuss it with Su An and the others later, and if that doesn’t work, I can ask some of the old fellows at the Physics College.” Either way, there were quite a few old fellows from the Physics College in the courtyard, and Jiao Yuan could ask any of them.

As they were talking, the phone in the master bedroom rang. Jiao Yuan didn’t even look up as he said, “Heitan, it’s probably someone calling you for some debauchery.”

Jiao Yuan had always been envious and resentful about Zheng Tan frequently going to entertainment venues for “debauchery.”

Zheng Tan glanced at Jiao Yuan, who was just too lazy to get up and answer the phone.

As Little Youzi was about to get up to answer the phone, Zheng Tan made the first move, running into the master bedroom, jumping onto the table where the phone was, and pressed the speaker button so both Jiao Yuan and Little Youzi in the living room could hear.

Little Youzi turned down the volume of the TV, and although Jiao Yuan didn’t look up, his ears were alert, listening to the sounds from the phone.

Zheng Tan felt the phone number on the caller ID looked familiar, but couldn’t quite remember whose it was. After hitting the speaker button, a sharp “squeak squeak” sound came from the speaker.

Zheng Tan: “…”

At this moment, Jiao Yuan and Little Youzi in the living room also remembered.

“Qi Da!” Both exclaimed at the same time.

The other end of the phone paused for a moment, then the “squeak squeak” sound grew louder, clearly pleased that someone on this side could call out its name.

Just then, Jiao Ma came over, pushed Jiao Yuan, who had run over intending to grab the handset, and answered the phone.

Zheng Tan listened from the side. The voice coming through the handset wasn’t Qi Da’s “squeak squeak” anymore, it was its owner Pei Liang’s voice. Qi Da had just finished a cameo in a TV drama, and because of some matters, Pei Liang planned to take Qi Da home first. They were passing through Chuhua City and planned to visit, and it happened that they would arrive on the weekend. Jiao Ma repeatedly agreed, as she quite liked that monkey.

Since that mischievous monkey was coming, Zheng Tan checked his locker to make sure it was locked, to prevent that monkey from coming and rummaging through his things, as that monkey had no scruples at all.

Pei Liang hadn’t originally planned to call the Jiao family; his main purpose in visiting Chuhua City was to catch up with Wei Leng, Ermao, and He Tao. But turning around, he found Qi Da had rifled through his business card holder and dialed the Jiao family. Since the call had been made, he simply mentioned that he’d visit the Jiao family when they arrived.

After the call, Pei Liang looked at the expectant Qi Da beside him, “Are you trying to invite that little buddy over to play at our place?”

Qi Da grinned broadly.

Pei Liang stroked his chin, “Why do I always feel like you’re scheming something else?”

Qi Da shook his head vigorously. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (NovelFire.net) to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.NovelFire.net to read.)

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