The Thing About Cats........

Cats just seem to find us.  I thought about all the cats that have been in my life, and I could only come up with four that were purposely acquired.  And two of those, I'm just guessing about, since it is far too many years ago.  The other 10 or 12 just sort of showed up.

Since I've been blogging, we had Meredith's cat here, Smudge, and then after my mum had her stroke and was not able to return home again, we took in her cat Nelson.  When Meredith bought her own place, Smudge went with her and lived to the ripe old age of 19.  

Nelson had some health issues, including a probably cancerous tumour in his mouth.  That was operated on, although did return to a degree, and other health issues developed.  Last summer we decided it was best to send Nelson to the Happy Hunting Ground. 

So then we were without a cat.  I thought that would be fine, because we were more dog people than cat people.  But it just seemed a bit weird, something was missing in the house.

In the meantime, about six months after the passing of Smudge, Meredith had decided that she would like to get two cats, that would be company for each other.  She really was only supposed to have one cat where she lived, but who was to know...

A friend she worked with knew of someone who was looking to rehome their two cats, because their toddler was making the cat's lives miserable.  Meredith saw a picture of them curled up together.  She went to visit them, and fell in love, and brought them home.

The cats were stressed of course, and then it seemed like they weren't getting along with each other.  Meredith tried everything.  Introducing them slowly, one in a pen, one out loose, calming pheromones, cat nip.  It would seem like it was going well, and then they would have a fight.  And since it takes two cats to have a fight, there was the worry that someone might complain.  She came to the conclusion that in their previous home they had a common enemy, the obnoxious toddler, and now that common enemy was no longer an issue.....Who knows.  So when Meredith wasn't home she had to keep Bella locked in the bedroom.

It was sort of working out, but it wasn't really much of a life for Bella, so I offered for her to bring Bella here and we would see how it went.  So one time when we were away and Meredith was chicken sitting, she brought Bella over and left her locked in the bedroom here during the day.  Bella is still Meredith's cat, but she lives with us.  She adapted quickly, and although she wasn't used to dogs or being outside, she adapted quickly to that too.

When Meredith acquired Bella and Toast, Bella was BIG!  Overweight, and she didn't lose any of it at Meredith's.  She would flop down on the floor and expose her big fat belly and I'd call her Big Bella, a beached whale, Portabella, etc.  She was 14+ pounds.  She slowly, very slowly, started to lose a bit of weight here, but still had a long way to go.

Last Fall I switched her over to a raw diet, and between that and going outside quite regularly, she lost about 3 lbs and now is a decent weight.

She is an adventurous cat, and when she first arrived we 'lost' her several times in the house.  She will drink out of the toilet if the lid is left up.  Here she has jumped from the toilet seat to the window sill.

This time we lost her, and then found her in our closet.

She is an easy going cat. Didn't bat at any tree ornaments, and was totally fine wearing her Jester collar.  What she does go crazy over is any light reflection on the floor or wall.  She loves chasing a laser pointer.

She has got quite adventurous and will join us outside quite some distance from the house.

She is mostly an inside cat, always in at night, and almost always in when we aren't home.

The other day she joined me and the dogs in the hayfield.  I was the throwing balls for the dogs.  Sometimes she would chase the ball, it was hilarious. 

I wonder if I got one she could pick up, whether she would bring it back.