Cat Tales – Page 28

It was bound to happen eventually

Cat Tales, Geek Wannabe Comments Off

Jul 162004

Phurball likes to sleep on top of my van. It’s a good spot, from a feline point of view; it’s high enough to be out of reach of even the biggest dogs, and large enough that there’s usually some in the sun and some in the shade. Plus there’s a convenient ramp at the front he can use to get up and down.

Problem is, he’s getting to be a crotchety old man, and sometimes when I want to drive somewhere, he doesn’t want to get down. At first he would reluctantly trudge to the edge so I could lift him down to the ground. Then he figured out that if he stays in the middle, I can’t reach him. So he’d lie there and meow smugly at me when I told him to get down.

A couple of squirts with the water bottle cured him of that attitude.

Yesterday I brought my mate’s car home from the shop; I wanted to pull the van out to the curb and put his car in, so it wouldn’t be parked behind the van. I pulled up to the curb in his car, hopped out, trotted down the driveway to the van, thinking I also needed to run up to the drugstore and maybe stop somewhere for some lunch and oh yes I need to go by the grocery store too…

I hopped in the van, started backing out… heard the usual patter of low-hanging branches on the roof… and then a louder clatter, and out of the corner of my eye saw something large and dark drop past the passenger window.

I immediately realized I’d forgotten to check the roof for cats. I stopped the van and turned it off—her butt was protruding into the street a little bit, but I was afraid to pull forward in case Phurball had broken something and was lying in front of the tire, unable to move out of the way. I jumped out and ran around the front of the van, calling his name. Phurball ran around from his side to meet me, meowing in alarm, but he didn’t seem to be limping or bleeding. I scooped him up and checked him over. Nothing damaged, just one very startled cat. Looks like he jumped off rather than getting knocked off, and still has pretty good reflexes for an old codger.

Hopefully this will encourage him to be a bit quicker in getting down, or at least to say something when he sees me approach so I know he’s up there. I’ve located a nearby emergency vet clinic just in case he doesn’t.

Like the kids don’t give me enough heart palpitations.

My cat thinks I’m swell

Cat Tales, Geek Wannabe 1 Response »

Mar 312004

When I’m sitting at my computer, I can see out a window that looks onto the front yard and driveway. It’s a useful place to gaze vacantly when I’m supposed to be working.

I was actually doing some work when movement in the driveway caught my eye. A young black-and-white cat was stalking up the driveway. He was walking towards the van, and his posture and attitude told me that he was intent on something underneath it—namely, my own cat.

I went outside to shoo him off. He was so focussed on Phurball that at first he barely glanced at me. I wasn’t walking fast or trying to be threatening; I didn’t want to frighten him, I just wanted him to go elsewhere. I was within three feet of him before it registered that yes, I was walking directly at him. He stopped and stared at me in astonishment. I said, “Yes, that’s right, I’m evicting you. Shoo, go home.” He ran a few feet, stopped and looked back. I followed him, still making shooing motions. He ran a few more feet, looked back again, realized I wasn’t going to quit, and ran off across the neighbor’s yard.

I went back to the van, got down on my hands and knees, and told Phurball, “You can come out, he’s gone.” Immediately a cat appeared from under the van, chatting happily, head-butting me, purring, obviously very pleased that his posse had come to back him up. He followed me inside and hung around while I did the housework, occasionally coming over for a head-butt and some more chatter—”Yeah man, we showed him, didn’t we?”

I wish all the members of my family were this communicative when they were pleased with me.

Cat on my Doorstep

Cat Tales, Geek Wannabe 5 Responses »

Feb 032004

Well, I found out where that feline wailing was coming from. I just opened the door to take out the trash, and there’s an orange long-haired tabby sitting on the side porch. She’s not only friendly, she’s absolutely certain that she belongs here and she wants to come inside. When I closed the screen so she couldn’t do so (Phurball objects to that kind of thing) she started giving the same low, pitiful wails I heard earlier this afternoon.

I really don’t know what to do with her. She doesn’t have a collar, but she’s well-cared for and obviously not a stray. We closed the door in the hopes that she’d get discouraged and go find her own house, and the wailing got louder—and then she climbed up the screen so she could look in the window, much to my son’s amusement.

It’s going to get awfully cold tonight. I hate to leave her out there, but if she comes in here there’s going to be a feline argument. I’m in a bit of a quandary.

Older Entries Newer Entries