Pet Interview: Haku and Tango from Author Crystal Crawford

Tell us a bit about yourself.
Haku: I am a normal, ordinary cat with one eye who likes to lick walls. (I do not try to eat the bird; don’t believe what he tells you.)

Tango: He tries to eat me.

What is your favorite toy?
Haku: I do not really play with toys much. I have humans. The small ones are the best to chase, but I also enjoy attacking my mom’s feet while she’s trying to eat breakfast. They try to give me toys, but the tiny humans are more fun, especially when they have dangling ribbons on their clothes. That is the best.

I also enjoy shower curtains. They are fun to lick. And I love drinking the water when my mom takes baths. And that shredded herbal stuff, whatever that is. That stuff I like.

Also, I like watching the bird. Just watching! I do not try to eat him… unless he gets too close and then that’s on him, right?

Tango: I like talking to my mirror and tweeting at the small human things… as long as they don’t try to touch me. The human also leaves the cage open for me on the porch and I enjoy flying around. When she gives the porch all to me, I like walking around on the ground and pecking at things.

I also like to poop on the small humans’ bikes.

What is your favorite food?
Haku: Pizza and tacos… Like this one time, when I stole a slice of pizza from the box when mom wasn’t looking and dragged it upstairs! That was the best. And when I stole a whole taco from the table. I was rather proud of myself… but Mom didn’t let me eat it. She is sometimes no fun. But she does let me have tuna now and then! And I guess my cat food is okay, too.

Tango: I’m a picky eater. That human person feeds me a special pellet diet to make sure I’m eating balanced nutrition. She keeps trying to put things in my cage, too, like grapes or apples or bits of lettuce… but they weird me out… I figure if I leave them there long enough, she’ll eventually take them away. It’s worked so far.

Who is your author?
Haku: Crystal Crawford, but I think she goes by CCrawfordWriting on most of her websites and things.

Tango: Is that her name? I never knew.

What does your author write?
Haku: She is always talking about some kind of strange world with magical things in it. She never really tells me what her stories are about, but I think they are some kind of fantasy.

Tango: I have no clue what kind of books she writes but they’re probably weird.

Where does your author write their stories?
Haku: In her secret room! No, seriously, she has a hidden office behind a bookcase with a secret door. She lets me come in, though. I like it. It has a window.

Tango: Not with me, that’s for sure. I like my “me” time.

What is the best thing about being an author pet?
Haku: My mom lets me spend a lot of time in her office with her, and when she moves I follow her around the house. Also, she stays up late, which means I sometimes get to eat a midnight snack.

Tango: Don’t tell her I said this, because it will go to her head, but… I like that she tells me little stories. It’s not like I’m ever going to talk back, because I have a “grumpy bird” reputation to keep up, but her imagination is sort of entertaining. When I first came here, there was another bird. When I woke up one day and he was gone, she told me he fell through a portal into Wonderland. I don’t know if it’s true, but it was a nice idea. I hope he’s having a good time there.

She also tells the cat not to eat me, which is useful.

What is the hardest thing about being an author pet?
Haku: Waking her up. Sometimes she stays up so late that I have to tap her face with my paws to wake her up. Normal humans should eat breakfast when the sun rises, should they not? I know I should.

Tango: I don’t know. I suppose it’s not so bad, really.

Where should readers go to read your author’s work?
Haku: Her books are available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com. Her Author Central account on Amazon lists all her books. You can also find info on all her writing– and even get some free stories! – at her website: http://ccrawfordwriting.com.

Tango: What he said, I guess.

What does a typical day in your author pet life look like?
Haku: I wake up early and spend the first few minutes walking on top of my mom’s head, petting her face gently, and meowing lovingly in her ears. When she gets up, we go to the kitchen and she feeds me and the small humans, which are usually up then, too. I like to bite her feet while she drinks coffee at the table. Then I pretty much just follow her from room to room as she goes about her work, taking care of the kids, cleaning, phone calls, whatever she needs to do. Sometimes I like to hang out on the porch in the sun while I wait for her to finish. My favorite part is the afternoon when she goes to her office. I sleep near her, in front of the big window, while she writes. Then I follow her down for dinner and lie on top of the piano while the family spends time together. Then I go back up to her office again while she writes some more. Sometimes I fall asleep before she’s done, and wake up in the office alone, but then I just go find her and see if she’s left out her yoga block for me to chew on. When the sun comes up, I jump up to pet her head and paw her face and we do it all again!

Tango: I get fed soon after the cat and children, then I get some time to fly around, usually. If anyone tries to hold me or touch me, I fly back to my cage and glare at them for a while and wait for them to leave, then I come out again. I like to spend the afternoon singing, and sometimes my author mom will even sing with me and talk to me. I don’t mind that, but sometimes she’ll try to bribe me to let her hold me with food or something… I’m way too smart for that, but it doesn’t stop her from trying.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Haku: Author Mom rescued me and my bird brother (whom I absolutely do not try to eat, remember? I’m innocent). I came from a shelter and bird brother was re-homed from someone who could no longer care for him. We had some other animals here, too, but they lived long lives and moved on, Mom said. I’m not sure where. But we are happy here, and safe. So I guess I would say that rescuing animals is a good thing. Mom says one day she hopes to rescue another cat or dog so I can have a playmate. I’d like that. But there are lots of other cats and dogs and birds and other animals who still need homes.

Tango: Yeah. What he said.