It's a gorgeous spring morning. The trees are rapidly leafing out and the birds are singing with the singular exuberance of the nesting season. It seems all of Nature is filled with joyful purpose. As I sit at my computer, Gracie (the adopted winter cat) is sitting in the open window soaking it all up. Strangely, she has never shown any desire to go outside since that bitter cold day we took her in. She is content to be an indoor kitty... and I'm a big fan of contentment.
Snuffy is an older male cat that my daughter Paula gave me 8 years ago when she moved off the farm. Snuffy, a fluffy black kitty, was used to roaming far and wide on the farm. He still gets the wanderlust. Sometimes it overwhelms him and he paws furiously at the patio door to get out. The condo association rules forbid outdoor cats. So, I try to comfort him when that happens.
Tweedy (pictured above) is the other cat I got off the farm from Paula. She's a shorthair tortoise-shell and has little desire to go outside. She's quite lady-like and a little shy.
The fourth cat is one my housemate Sue got from her parent's farm up in Northern Minnesota.
Her dad found a litter of kittens in a shed the mother cat had entered through a hole in the floor.
We got Sunny when he was 8 weeks old. As he grew (and grew) he seemed to have many characteristics of a Norwegian Forest Cat. (They are a large breed like Maine Coon Cats.) Sunny is a chunk--picking him up is like holding a twenty pound turkey. Always hungry, Sunny is the cat who comes to wake me up in the morning. He crawls up in the bookcase headboard and purrs very loudly in my ear. If I ignore him, he will gently tap my head. When I finally sit up in bed, he will take off running down the hall to the kitchen. You can almost hear him yelling, "Yah Hoo, breakfast!"
3 comments:
Lordy lordy, your blog made me cry. Just the sweetness of you taking in those kitties. What a heart, dearie!
For your kitty that wants out, it will seem bizarre, but we have used a "pet weight" before. It's a harness tied to a big old brick with an elastic bungee cord. We had a cat who would not stay on our tiny patio, so we put the "pet weight" on him and he would drag it around, exploring. It kept him inbounds. For another cat who was determined to sit in the street we had a mesh tunnel (a bunch of popup laundry bags sewn together with string) connected to a mesh pop-up tent, so he felt like he was outside but he was contained.
What we do for our pets!
My only complaint about kitties is that some of them won't stay put.
My Firestar wants outside very much now, and if we're not careful he will shoot out the open door through our feet. He never goes far. Within a few feet he's on his back rolling about.
Penniwig, You are a fellow cat lover! Those are some really innovative suggestions. I have considered enclosing the patio with chicken wire but the Assn would have a fit. The thing is that if one cat goes out, they all insist on going out and chaos ensues (you've heard the expression "herding cats"?)
Bevie, Firestar sounds like a sweet, good-natured kitty.
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