Kitten-tervals

I've been doing something absolutely ridiculous lately.

I know - you're shocked.

I'm sure most of you are already aware that I share my home with the world's most adorable kitty.

Think I'm wrong? FIGHT ME

Hi name is Fionn (also known as #fionnthefuzzy , little man, Peanut, my niblet, tiny monster, and - a fan favourite - #tinybagofdicks), and he doesn't know that at almost two and a half years old he's not supposed to be a kitten anymore.

Seen here attacking a plushie taco

So you know how a lot of cats will do that thing where they suddenly get the wind in their tail and have to run at top speed to another room? The zoomies strike this wee lad with great frequency.

I've started chasing him.

I'm full-time working from home now, and in order to keep from stiffening up too much from sitting on my butt at a desk all day, I get up periodically to walk around. Because my house is a backsplit, it's all stairs, so I usually just end up doing laps around the livingroom.

Sometimes returning to discover I've nowhere to sit down again.

Fionny is a high-energy cat, who desperately wishes I could spend all day playing with him. He regularly comes to chirp at me to throw something for him, or just jumps up on my desk so I am forced to stop working and pay attention to him.

Productivity issues

Not that he has anything else to play with, right?

He's worked out that I'm always up for chasing him whenever I'm wandering around the livingroom, and will actually wake up from a nap now and follow me downstairs. As soon as I shuffle my feet at him, it's ON.

In that video you can even see the newest thing he's learned: when I chase him into somewhere that he feels cornered, I stand back and tell him "GO", and he'll often start to run again. Sometimes he'll hide, though, and usually in the most ridiculous ways.

I chased him up to the bedroom and he hid in "kitten jail"

I don't think he realizes how much of him there is.

He doesn't always want to run; sometimes he just kind of flops on the floor instead.

..but often he'll decide it's time to play chase at totally inappropriate times: when I've just eaten a filling dinner, or when I'm half asleep on the couch and trying to work up the energy to go to bed.

There have been some pretty long days lately..

Thing is, I'll still chase him, or at least try. I'm considering it training: if I can (suddenly and without warning) run up a set of stairs after my little monster when I'm tired, or full, or just feeling lazy, maybe I'll be able to convince myself to run when I've been moving all day and am just trying to reach the finish line of a long, tiring race.

I've heard of - and clearly seen - more ridiculous things.

Even if it really does nothing for me fitness-wise, at least I'm having fun with my niblet.

Which has its own value

Of course I'm not using it as a substitute for regular training; just a silly little addition that I tell myself might make a tiny difference when the miles add up and the body is breaking down.

Which - let me tell you - takes a disturbingly small number of miles these days.

So how about you? Do you have some odd thing that you do to supplement your training, especially something a little goofy? Let me know in the comments because I'd love to hear all about it!

We could all use something to smile about as we wait for the sun to set on this chapter of our history.

Be well, everyone!