Hi Guys!
El Rey Alfredo here… yeah… that’s right: King Alfred en espagnol.
![Cardens October 7, 2011 217](http://kingalfredthecat.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/cardens-october-7-2011-217.jpg?w=300)
El Rey Alfredo
Living in a one-room hotel in Malabo is making Moms and me pretty close. Sometimes too close. Moms is always here – and, I like need my space. I feel like I’m being smoothered.
“Alfred?! Alfred?!” my Moms is always calling out in panic. “Where are you hiding?! What happened to you?”
The room is like so tiny. You would think we were in some huge room and Moms had lost me. But, I’ve gotten used to this. Moms will call me every hour or so if I’m not in her sight. She’s worried something has happened to me. Like I swallowed some more of her medicine again or ate some poisonous African bug.
“Moms. Moms! Don’t worry. I’m right here,” I say coming out of one of my hiding places. I come out and let Moms squeeze me and hug me to reassure her that I’m okay. I let her squeeze on me for a few seconds and sit on her lap for a minute or two. Then all that closeness starts to get me and my fear of intimacy kicks in and I leave. Back to my hiding place.
Recently, Moms taught me a new trick: Cat kisses. She tells me “Kiss. Kiss,” and I’m suppose to put my nose up to her. Moms thinks its great. I think it’s stupid.
“Come on, Alfred… Give Moms another kiss…!” she begs. I get kind of embarrassed. Or sometimes I’m trying to watch tv (en espagnol of course. I’m gettin’ pretty good with the lingo!) or sit on my suitcase and look outside at the sea and I don’t want give any cat kisses.
“Not again, Moms…! I already gave you like 10 cat kisses today. Enough is enough. I’m a young male cat, and I don’t want my friends teasing me.”
“Wait until I tell all your Aunties in Rwanda how you know how to kiss your Moms.” Moms said proudly.
Yuck. What’s wrong with this woman…?
Sometimes I have to escape it all and play with my toys in the bathtub.
![King Alfred in tub wih his toys](http://kingalfredthecat.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/king-alfred-in-tub-wih-his-toys3.jpg?w=150)
Alfred in Bahia 2 Hotel tub
The other day Moms fed me tunafish even though I had told her I didn’t like it. I didn’t eat it the whole day and then I got so hungry I had to eat it. And then STOMACH ACHE..!! I got so sick. “Moms.. Moms… I’m sick. I’m sick! The tunafish killed me.”
When Moms wasn’t looking I got on the computer and sent an email to my Aunties in Rwanda: “Hi Guys. Alfred here. KING Alfred. I’m sick! Moms keeps feeding me tunafish and I keep getting sick…!”
“Alfred. Alfred. Alfred!” Mom cried. “Boy! Are you on the computer again?! What did I tell you about using the computer?! You’re a cat. Stay off the computer.”
And that, guys, was my very first post…
The rest is history. Now I have you all following me.
EL REY ALFREDO