The Moishe on the screen swallowed and then moved to the water bowl to take a drink. A moment later, he was back at the food bowl, head buried up to his ears and chewing.

“Maybe he does eat it all!” Andrea said, watching Hannah’s cat eat.

Michelle lifted Moishe up from her lap, held him a moment to judge his weight, and put him back down again. “I don’t think so,” she said. “I’m almost sure he’s not gaining weight.”

“And he would be if he ate rations for four cats twice a day,” Hannah said, frowning slightly. “Just wait and see what he does when he’s full. That’s probably when he hides the rest of the food.”

Several minutes passed as they all watched Moishe eat. Never had a cat’s dietary habits been so closely observed. At last Moishe pulled back from the food bowl and began to wash his face. This lasted for almost three minutes, and then he ducked his head in his food bowl again.

“The Big Guy’s got a lot of food in his mouth,” Norman observed. “His cheeks are puffed out.”

At first Hannah thought Norman was anthropomorphizing, but Moishe’s cheeks did look fuller. Perhaps that was something a dentist would notice.

“He’s going to the refrigerator!” Andrea sounded shocked. “He doesn’t know how to open the door, does he, Hannah?”

Hannah laughed. “No. He’s a smart cat, but he hasn’t figured that one out yet…at least I don’t think he has.”

Almost in tandem, they all leaned forward as Moishe passed by the front of the refrigerator and ducked into the narrow area between the side of the kitchen appliance and the broom closet. He had to squeeze to get in, but he wiggled his way out of sight in the narrow space.

“That’s where he always loses his duck’s foot,” Hannah said. “And all the times I’ve fished it out for him with the yardstick, he could have gotten it himself!”

“He must be hiding his food back there,” Michelle guessed.

“I hope he doesn’t get stuck!” Andrea exclaimed, and all three of them turned to look at her. “What?” she asked, and a moment later, she gave an embarrassed laugh. “I guess that didn’t happen, since he’s sitting right here on Michelle’s lap.”

A moment later Moishe emerged, and it was Hannah’s turn to gasp.

“What is it?” Andrea asked her.

“He came out headfirst and there’s no room to turn around back there!”

“There must be a hole or something,” Norman suggested.

“Let’s go look,” Hannah said, heading for the kitchen at a trot. She unlocked the door to the broom closet, took out the bag of cat food, and motioned to Norman.