Hannah got up and walked down the hallway. Michelle must have discovered something new that the fancy exercise machine could do. She took one step inside her bedroom and stopped to stare in utter disbelief.

Michelle was walking on the treadmill, but she wasn’t the only one. Moishe was walking right in front of her, keeping pace with the speed of the machine.

“See what I mean?” Michelle asked, grinning at Hannah.

“He just watched me this morning, but the minute I turned on the treadmill part of the machine and started to walk, he hopped right up here in front of me and he’s been here ever since.”

“This is just . . . amazing!” Hannah knew the word she’d used to describe this feline feat was too tame, but she was at a loss for words. She had a cat who liked to pace on the treadmill. She’d never seen anything like it before. “Do any other cats do this?” she asked Michelle.

“I don’t know, but he really seems to like it. I wonder what’ll happen if I speed up the machine a little.” Michelle reached forward to the console and turned a switch.

The treadmill began to go faster. Hannah could tell because Michelle had to jog to keep up. So did Moishe, but he stuck with it, running along and wearing what Hannah thought of as his kitty-grin. “I think he likes it faster,” Hannah said.

“Maybe he does, but I’m not ready to jog that fast. I’m going to slow it down all the way and then I’ll shut it off.”

Michelle turned the machine to a slower speed for a few seconds. When she lowered the speed even more, Moishe turned around to glare at her. He gave a yowl that would have curdled milk, and jumped off in a huff to stalk past Hannah and down the hall.

“I don’t think he liked that,” Michelle said quite unnecessarily.

“I don’t think so, either. I’ve got to check with Doc Hagaman and Sue. I’ve never heard of a cat exercising on a treadmill before.”

“Maybe you won’t have to put him on a diet,” Michelle said, stepping off the machine and wiping her face on a towel. “If he exercises every time I do, he’ll lose weight on his own.”

Hannah was thoughtful as she walked back to the living room and her iced tea. Perhaps Michelle was right and Moishe would lose weight without dieting. And if Michelle was right about Moishe, perhaps she should try the fancy exercise machine to see if she could lose weight without dieting. It was worth a try. Nothing was worse than being on a diet, and everyone said that exercise was good for you. She’d ask Michelle to show her just how the exercise machine worked and give it a try.