You may have read here that Kelly prefers to stay on the ground, but that wasn't always the case.  There was a time when the Big Guy was able to leap to high places in a single bound.

   We surprised Kelly on the countertop once, and after he observed our strongly negative reaction, he learned to be more discreet.  All that meant, though, is that he got better at not getting caught in the act.  Every so often, one of us would get up from the sofa in the family room and immediately hear a loud thud from the kitchen -- the kind of noise made by a guilty large ginger tomcat with better-than-average hearing.

   One morning, Pat came downstairs and discovered the little bit of dry cat food she'd left on the kitchen counter had disappeared overnight.  No, we didn't see who did it, but from experience we just knew it was Kelly because he was the only one of our cats who had both the ability and willingness to jump on the counter for food.  However, the more he ate, the heavier he became and so it turned into a self-limiting problem.

   These days, our Kelly Cat must be properly motivated before he'll expend energy.  When Pat brings out the laser pointer, Kelly doesn't join in on the play, content to watch while his younger housemate Nicky stalks and chases the little red dot.  But if he thinks there's any chance we're going to take him outside, or that we might be putting out some food, you should see Kelly run!