Meow Sweet Meow

Life for our cats is now back to normal. They have all forgiven me for enclosing them in their crates and taking them in the car for the Labor Day weekend at Mayberry. I was mostly worried about AngelBoy, who has been known to get my attention by doing something stupid when he's upset about something.

Thankfully, no pay-back from AngelBoy, and he's following me around the house and sitting on top of the morning paper when I'm trying to read it. Which means that all is purrfect in his little blue-eyed kitty world.

ShadowBaby is back cuddling up in my lap whenever I sit down, purring away and keeping one of his paws on my arm or my waist or up near my neck--- whichever is more comfortable for him. He's the lap-cat in this family, and he rarely misses a chance to prove it.

Mickey Kitty has spent more time on the screen-porch since we've been home. He naps in each and every chair out there during the day, sometimes pushing one of the older cats off of the chaise lounge so he can curl up there..... which is a funny sight--- the smallest cat on the biggest chair. Mickey loves the porch here, which isn't something I can say for the porch up at Mayberry. Even though I decorated the screen-porch of the cottage to look like the porch here, the cats weren't fooled.

Not only weren't they impressed by the porch at the cottage, they had no interest in the lake, the egrets, the ducks, the view.... not even the view? I couldn't believe that when we were there, and I can't believe it still. I guess they were just too scared to explore their "new" surroundings.

I really should've known that. Especially with AngelBoy, who even gets upset when I rearrange furniture in this house. You moved the red chair to the other side of the room? Whatever for?

We're slowly getting all of my yard sale finds up to the cottage. Every time we drive there, I've got the trunk of my husband's car packed to the edges with stuff.... small tables, dresser drawers, lamps, decorative items.... and half of the back seat has either a chair or an end table or the dresser belonging to the drawers that are in the trunk. The other half of the back seat has to be saved for Gracie. When we took the cats up with us, the back seat was packed with Gracie and three cat carriers.... poor Gracie.... but the cats loved having her back there with them--- that might have been the only saving grace (pardon the pun) of the car-ride for the cats.

That was another problem with having the cats in the car--- we couldn't stop along the way. We had to pass by flea markets, antique shops, and small outdoor markets along the way to the lake. With just Gracie in the car, we could've stopped for a while and let Gracie stretch her legs and inspect the grass while one of us (guess which one....) went for a look-see into the shops.

There's no way to sight-see with three cats in the car. The only thing you can do is get from Point A to Point B as quickly as you can, because the car ride is stressful enough for most cats. I still have to shake my head in wonder when I think back to last year, when we had to evacuate this area because of Hurricane Rita. Fifteen hours in the cars..... Mickey Kitty and AngelBoy in my car, and Gracie, ShadowBaby and Rusty in my husband's car. And once we got to the house of friends where we stayed for the storm (that never hit, thank goodness) the cats were just fine for the two-and-a-half days we were there.

And talk about cramped quarters.... my four cats were in the laundry room of that house, a room that had no window, which is awful for housecats, not to be able to see out. But they were fine, quiet, well-behaved.... no meowing, no hiding, not a peep out of them. And here, we take them to a beautiful little cottage with a pretty screen-porch with a never-ending view of the lake...... and they hardly looked out into the yard, much less the lake.

Oh well.... lesson learned, as my husband would say. Unless we have to evacuate, the cats will stay right here in their own porch with their pet-sitter. Honestly.... I would've bet everything that they would've preferred to be with us. As for our 4th cat, Rusty, who stays in the backyard--- sometimes I wonder if he even knows when we've been gone. With Rusty, as long as there's someone here who fills up his food and water dishes, his life is just fine. You've heard of "The Life of Riley?"---- well, in this house, it's "The Life of Rusty."