Entering a new old era
Yesterday was a momentous day.
Daughter called in with Squidge, the youngest granddaughter, and the inevitable happened: they left the door to the garden open.
Cat saw his chance and made his first steps into the Great Outdoors.
Incidentally, before any of you complain that his name is Malone – I have renamed him Cat. It’s easier to remember and is slightly more descriptive.
Anyhows, Cat wandered out the door closely followed by the dog. As Cat walked, so Penny marched alongside like a shadow, making sure everything was all right. Cat mooched around, exploring dust patches and bushes and strange stuff called grass [remember – this cat had never been outdoors before]. Eventually he wandered back into the house all pleased with himself.
Relationships between dog and cat seem to have settled into a steady pattern. Penny treats Cat with utter disdain, though secretly is quite fond of him. If Cat arches his back and hisses at Penny she either ignores it or walks past deliberately bumping Cat in the process. If Cat tries something devious such as creeping up for a sneak attack, Penny throws a snap at him, whereupon Cat streaks off in a cloud of fur to the front of the house in a panic. Penny is definitely Top Dog and intends to remain that way.
So I no longer have to sit with all doors and windows closed. At last I can let some fresh air into the house to dispel the stink of cat piss [and shit – boy but cat shit doesn’t half stink!]. First thing today I threw the doors to the garden open, and both animals wandered out. Shortly after, Cat came streaking back in in a panic – she had discovered yet another new phenomenon – rain!
So slowly but surely life is returning to the chaos and mayhem that I like to call normality.
I’ve never had a ‘house’ cat. Even when I lived in a first-floor flat in London, the cats were ‘free-range’. We had a lean-to below the kitchen window at the back, and the cats could come via the wooden fence onto the lean-to roof, and then it was just a short hop to the windowsill.
I remember the look of horror on my mother’s face the first time she came to visit us there; the cat was being a pain, so my (now ex) wife picked him up and dropped him out of the open (first floor) window. 🙂 Heh!
Well, it was a small lean-to, and you couldn’t see it unless you went right up to the window.
But cats really are suited to outdoor life. I think it’s a shame to keep them inside. But that’s just my opinion. Although I do understand that in your case, GD, you had no choice but to keep him in initially. And yes, cat toilet trays stink to high heaven. I’ve been blessed with numerous litters of kittens over the years, which means numerous litter trays. Ughh!
The poor cat had been kept indoors for the last three weeks [and the previous year by all accounts] so this was his first foray into the outside. He was gone most of today and eventually turned up on the roof.
I agree about cats. Keeping them indoors is like keeping birds or wild animals in cages – not natural and not good for the bird or animal.
My wife and I have 4 indoor only cats (we should have had only 2 but we brought in a small rescue cat and then we had 4–one died you see). The litter box gets scooped out twice a day (or more) and completely changed every 4 days. It’s the scooping out the solids every day that help with the stink. We flush them by the way.
Glad to hear Penny and Cat have reached a cease fire…more or less.
I’m trying to work this out … 2 + 1 – 1 = 4? Oh, never mind.
Life was a bit of a pain with an indoor cat only. We spent our time making sure all doors and windows were closed even on the rare occasion when the sun was shining and we should have been sitting outside. I’m sitting just inside the open doors to the Estate [I have just cut the grass and the smell is beautiful] and the cat is wandering in and out to his heart’s content. He actually spends more time inside than out. The perfect solution.
Let me clear up the equation first just to give you a peace of mind (we could all use that):
2 = our 2 senior cats, one male and one female.
+1 = a young, tiny rescue Siamese mix who, despite assurances she wasn’t pregnant, gave birth to:
+2 kittens (which, despite our repeated claims we were not keeping–kept them anyway. That’s what I meant about +1 which gave us two more.
-1 = Our senior male cat died a few months ago.
So:
2+1 (which gave us) +2-1=4
I take it you don’t have things like window screens and storm doors that you can put screens into?
We’ve never had the problem of stinky trays. Our present and previous cats have/had a catflap and will always go outside – often in the middle of the night. Noisy, but preferable to indoors. As to Penny being top dog, I really wonder how much longer it will be before Cat grows more confident and shows her real character.
I – many years ago – worked nights and returned home in the early hours of the morning. Then we lived opposite two (in the middle of nowhere) pubs, one of which had two very fierce Alsations as guard dogs. Unfortunately they were often loose in the road outside, and presented a considerable hazard to anyone unknowingly enough to walk near their pub. My two cats met me at my garage and, seeking to avoid trouble, I picked them up to carry around to the house. As soon as the Alsations appeared, ready to tear me apart, my Tabby cat struggled free and attacked the two dogs, who promptly ran away howling. Said cat returned, sat down for a celebratory wash and followed me home. I’ve never worried about cats since.
For a micro-second I considered a cat-flap but there is no suitable place to put one. The alternatives are a flap in double-glazed doors [not on], one through a cavity block and brick wall [not on] or one into the porch and another from the porch through the front door. The last is possible but I couldn’t be arsed.
Cat seems to be timid enough. There have been no attempts to break the status quo and both animals seem to be quite content. Maybe that will change? Watch this space I suppose?
Our catflap is through a double-glazed sliding patio door – no problem. Could give you the name of the supplier, but probably not much use where you are. Wait a few months. As Cat grows and becomes more secure, expect changes. They have ways of winning you over before all hell breaks out.