Tonight I introduced Lucky to the terrace, and he immediately wanted to jump up onto the ledge. Of course he didn't know the ledge is only 4 1/4" wide. He could probably have jumped up there and maneuvered it, but I wasn't about to watch it happen. Mind you, it's only one floor down to the pool deck, but it's solid concrete directly below.
So I pushed a potted plant and some empty pots against the exposed areas of the terrace wall to make it impossible for him to make a clean jump up onto the ledge. (I may plant some Crown of Thorns in those empty pots. I've always wanted some anyway.) (Come to think of it, however, they may be poisonous to cats. I'll have to look that up.)
When I came home from work today, I opened my bedroom door and Lucky didn't even seem interested in (and/or was perhaps fearful about) venturing out, although eventually he did. And then the cats got into a skirmish while I was talking on the phone and not paying attention. (Apparently Bootsy realized he had an opportunity to make a move.) I broke that up right away and dragged Bootsy, growling, here into the computer room and closed the doors so I could continue my conversation in peace (with apologies to the person I was talking to).
Lucky meanwhile is very content hanging out in my bedroom. He has everything he needs there. There's also a floor-to-ceiling window he likes to sit at and look out. (He didn't even know about it till I opened the blind and hurricane shutters this morning.) Tonight I spread out in front of it the blanket the Humane Society had given me. I'd already put down a throw rug.
Just now I tried brushing Lucky with a brush full of Bootsy's fur and he started growling. I'd read last night to brush the new and the present cat with the same brush so they get used to each other's scent. I hadn't realized to what extent scent plays a part in this adjustment. I'd also read to shampoo them both with the same shampoo so they smelled the same (I'm not going to put the cats, or me, through that). Frankly, I don't even really detect much of a scent on cats myself, and certainly nothing like dog musk. To me, cats always smell fresh and clean. (But among cats, it's obviously different.) The friend I was talking to on the phone also mentioned the scent thing--his dad is a veterinarian and they've dealt with lots of animals in their own home.
I know there's been a lot of cat blogging lately and it will continue to some degree. I hope at least some people like it.
P.S. I hadn't spent any time out on the terrace since I had friends over in February after B. left (it was like a wake). It was nice sitting out there tonight, watching the cats, hot and muggy as it was. This past weekend I cleaned it up a bit and threw out a bag of mulch that was housing an ant colony. The whole colony went down the garbage chute. Good riddance.
Was just observing the cats in the bedroom. Bootsy often likes to sleep at the foot of the bed on the rumpled comforter. Tonight he went in there and Lucky was up on the pillows and Bootsy started yowling and went back into the living room. So I scooped him up and laid him down at the foot of the bed, with Lucky still up on the pillows, and sat there in a chair and watched them for a while. No problems, no evil eye, no growling. Lucky eventually got down, however. He's got a million places to be. I love having a young cat back in the household. I hope Bootsy will appreciate it eventually. He's certainly got revved up over it, although in a negative way up till now.
I'll sequester Lucky back in the bedroom suite tomorrow before I go to work. There's still a lot of work to be done here.
No comments:
Post a Comment