Sweetie's Last Day Inside

 As we near the end of 2013 Sweetie is having her last day inside my house.  I invited her in to have one more day of exploring.  You can see from the picture to the right that she headed up to the balcony.  I was following her with the camera and she did something I had not seen her do before.  She took a walk on the railing. When she jumped down, I rolled one of her favorite toys to her and she began to play with it.  There is something about a plastic Easter egg that interests her. It may be the lopsided way it rolls when she bats it with her paws.  After a bit of this play she went back  downstairs and roamed around in all of the tiny spaces she could find.  To get her back out in the sun room I had to trick her with a little Kitten Chow.

 It wasn't long before  J.W. came over with his truck and her new little house, that he had been building.  He helped me to coax her out the side door and into the waiting world.    From the picture to the right you can see that she is taking a backward look to be sure it is okay for her to venture out. 

After she was out to the edge of the bricks she tentatively put down one paw onto the Mondo grass, then the  rest of her  body.  Then she shot straight for the big green holly bush at the corner of the house.  She was very familiar with that bush as she had been seeing it from the inside for a month.

I gradually coaxed her to come out and go for a walk with me all around the house.  She kept very close to the side of the house all the way around to the front.  At this point I left her to explore and I went inside.   I think she spent the next few hours staying close to the house or in the bushes as I could not see her from the windows.

Before dark I wanted to get her back into the sun room, since her new outside house was not yet ready for occupancy.  I walked around calling her and finally she showed up.  I called and coaxed her, then let her come inside by the back door.  That had not been my first choice but that is how it happened.

I soon had her in the sun room so she would be inside for the night.   Then this morning I opened the outside door  again so she could go out as before.  But she did  not want to go out.  She may have gone out if the yard man had not appeared with a noisy hedge trimmer.  She really does not like loud noises.  As soon as he finishes his work and leaves, she may give the outside another try.  But for now I am happy to know that she is learning where it is safe for her to be.  I have high expectations for her once she settles in and knows to stay close to my house and learns where to find those pesky squirrels and voles and unwanted critters.

Out of the Kennel

Sweetie's benefactor is coming today to take her in for removable of the stitches on her underside. 

Her confinement time in the kennel has passed and she has had the run of the sun room now for a week.  She seems content as she now has something for comparison, being locked in the kennel.  She still likes to peek in and see what her care taker is up to.  As long as her food and water bowls are replenished in a timely fashion she does not try to climb the door looking for a way to get in to where I am.

Her benefactor, J.W., is faithful to come and do exactly what he has said he will do.  He has been spending his evenings building a super comfy house for her to live in when she is introduced to the big world out there, waiting for her to explore and conquer.

The last feline to live in the sun room was Chester, the black male cat which I thought would be my outside cat and main mouser.  Alas Chester lasted two days (or nights) outside.  I thought he was content as he was last seen lounging under a Leyland Cypress which is on a rise at the west side of my house.  It is a mystery as to why he disappeared after that second night.  His former mistress, now my daughter-in-law, had brought a heated portable nylon house for his comfort outdoors, when it became cold.  He never got to use it but Sweetie has been enjoying it from her first cold night in the sun room.  She appreciates a good thing when she sees it.

Since she enjoys the finer things, J.W. is building a nice wooden house lined with Styrofoam and inside the insulation will be the heated house.  This house will be set up on a  platform so that Sweetie can sleep in the knowledge that she is high enough to discourage most of the night time critters in the neighborhood.

It will only be a few days until she will be smelling the sweet outdoors and getting to know the lay of the land up here on the hill.  Then there will be no turning back.  Oh, I expect she will show up in the morning and evening for her regular meals.  I wonder if she will know what to do with her first fresh prey.  Will she be willing to share it with her care taker?  Only time will tell.  I do believe that J.W. will be stopping by to visit with her.  After all she has been his pet  project for some time now.  He was the one to rescue her from sure death at the hands of the animal control.  He was the one to give her a name when he said "She is a sweetie".  You do not forget an old love even when it is a kitten that you saved from extinction.

Sweetie's Confinement

My neighbor, Sweetie's benefactor came for her on Wednesday as planned.  She went quietly with him in the carrier, and the lady Vet was very pleased with such a gentle kitten in her surgery.  They were impressed with her quiet demeanor and that rather surprised me as she talks to me all the time.

After spending the night at the animal hospital she was dismissed and is now back in her kennel where she must rest until her stitches are removed after Christmas.  Her first day back in the kennel was spent mostly sleeping but as she rested and began to recuperate she began to show some agitation.  She tried to climb the side and also to climb to the top of the heated bed/house inside the large kennel with her.  She had a thing or two to say to me too, like what did I do to deserve this?  Haven't I been a good pet?  I obey when you say get down and even when you say stay.  So, why am I stuck back in here where I began my life with you?  There is no way I can explain to her that this was done to keep more stray cats from filling up our neighborhood.

The day before she had her surgery she spent most of the day inside with me.  She even went up the curved stairway with considerable speed.  She discovered the chimes hanging near the steps and gave them a ring as she went by.  I rather liked that.  For one thing it lets me know she is not busy scratching on the furniture or climbing up where she might knock over something made of glass.  Since I have the upstairs bedroom doors closed she has limited space to explore.  When I get curious to know just what is keeping her so quiet up there I call and she comes to the railing and sticks her head out to see why I am calling her.  When I encourage her she comes down and more play takes place.  She much prefers to be in the open part of the house rather than confined to the one sun room.  However I fear she must stay in a small space for a while.  The Vet says she needs a small space in order to not get too active and tear the stitches so carefully placed on her tummy.

 I can see the wisdom in confinement  but Sweetie must think she is being punished.  I did put a radio out there so she could hear human voices - even though she could not recognize them.  Hopefully the time will pass quickly for her.  I do not know if kittens can actually watch television but if I had a small one I could put it out there for her entertainment.  I can see that I am giving her human qualities, but I do not know how to deal with the situation otherwise.  Perhaps it is enough for now that she is in a protected place where food appears on a regular basis and water is regularly replenished.

Kitty No Tail

 Kitty No Tail, aptly named "Sweetie" because of her sweet disposition is off today for her first medical appointment.  She left by carrier when my neighbor came  by early to take her in to see the Vet who will inoculate her against Rabies.  When she recovers from this necessary health measure, she will be allowed to go outside where she really wants to be.  She responds very nicely to my neighbor who just has a special touch.  He has a low chuckle when he is talking to her and she is used to receiving kind treatment from him since birth.  He saved her from sure death at the hands of the animal control group in our town.  She will now tolerate my petting but not for long.  She prefers to play  when I engage her in various games. 

While visiting a new store in our area I went to the pet department to find her kind of kitten chow.  I saw some toys and bought two little balls red and green (for the current season) which had rattling objects inside them.  I thought she  would enjoy them and she did when I rolled one past her.  That kept her happily purring for quite some time.

When she is settled in her own outdoor home I expect she will just go crazy with excitement from all the added attractions at her disposal.  I hope she stays out of the trees for a while.  I have never had to rescue a cat from a tall tree and do not look forward to that.  However I think she is old enough now to come back down if she does get up too high.  She does like to climb as high as she can get, so it could happen.  She climbs the curved steps in this house and gets back down with no problem.

I think she is a worthy opponent when it comes to speedy movements.  I can detect a movement from the corner of my eye and by the time I turn my head she is gone.  She is pretty good to come when I call her, but she does it in her own time, not mine.  I do believe she is cautious enough to escape any owls or coyotes that may come around.  Her hearing is very acute.  I have seen her turn her head from a movement of mine when I am inside the house and she is in the sun room with the door closed.  I am talking about a faint noise like a footstep.

So, Sweetie has a whole new world waiting for her outside.  She has five acres to roam and explore.  I hope she stays within the confines of this place as there is a hoot owl living several thousand  feet away from here.  He has already tried to take my neighbor's cat, but this cat was too heavy for him.  He had to drop it before he got air born, but he left 6 puncture wounds in this big cat.  I will try to bring Sweetie indoors at night for a while just to be sure she is safe.  If you have been reading here before you know that my record for taking in felines is not exemplary.  I want to redeem myself with Sweetie, so I will leave the sun room open to her for a while, just in case she needs more protection at night when she is  sleeping peacefully.

A Purring Machine

 A few weeks ago when this little kitten was brought to  me, she would try to hide from me and would not leave her kennel.  What a difference I see now that she has had a chance to eat all she needs, drink all she needs and feel warm and secure.  I think she likes her new environment. 

Better things are in store for her.  When she has grown and reached the age for spaying, she will be taken outdoors and then life will become much more interesting for her. Right now she can see out of the many windows, and watch the wildlife all about this house.  But later she will be promoted to chief squirrel chaser and chipmunk aggravater as well as lizard conqueror.

I saw some evidence of her agility one day when a black fly materialized inside  one of the windows.  I thought it was on the outside but she knew better, as she jumped and pawed at the window.  When the fly flew across the room, I realized it was indeed inside.  In her old life on the streets she would have had a snack.  Yuck !!  That is hard to contemplate.

When she was allowed to come inside for a change of scenery, she had to jump up on things and get a better look at everything now at her eye level.  The first three times that I invited her inside she jumped behind my washing machine in the laundry room.  It was so narrow and deep behind there that she could not spring back up.  I had to move some storage drawers in order for her to get out.  After doing this for three times, I believe she  knows that there is nothing of interest to her back there, so she has not gone there again.

Sweetie has made a good adjustment and will be taken good care of, but plenty of animals are out there with no one to care for them.  My friend who loves cats has a good idea which I believe could prove to be a money saving effort for our local governments.  It is his contention that if free spaying and neutering of animals were available for animals up for adoption then there would be less stray animals producing more animals and in time there would not be a need for a big budget in animal  control.  At the same time there would be plenty of animals around to satisfy anyone  who wants a pet. His idea seems a much more humane way of controlling the many stray animals that are costing money to keep the animal population in balance.