Tuesday, November 13, 2012

All the Cats Have Come to Tea




This is Pete.  He adopted Mom over 5 years ago (a few months before she went into assisted living with dementia), having grown up in a neighbor's barn and becoming dissatisfied with his lifestyle.  He was not a nice cat - growly, hissy and spitty.  So, he had to live in the garage with Tigger, who had developed a bad habit of spraying furniture and walls (Mom has no sense of smell any longer, so she didn't smell it). We didn't think Pete would be house-broken, either. Well, Tigger was killed by a coyote in May and Pete had to live alone, which he didn't mind as long as Jay and I were in the house nearby. And if we kept Pepper the Brittany away from him.  Pepper ran Pete up an apple tree when he first arrived in May and Pete spent two days and nights in the rain there.  And apparently had an epiphany - he no longer growled, hissed or spit. In fact, he wanted to sit on our laps on the porch, as long as we kept the dog away. But, we moved up the hill into our new house in September and Pete was moved from the chilly garage into Mom's empty house (we have to keep some heat on so the pipes won't freeze).  We've been going down the hill twice a day to feed him, get the mail, deposit the garbage bag. Guess what?  He didn't spray in the house.  But it's become apparent that he's desperately lonely.  So, today, Jay brought him up the winding driveway through the pines and we put him in Jay's office and I spent half the day with him.  Our other two cats,




 Geordie and Harry, have always hated Pete and have discovered his presence.  So has the dog.


 This is going to take some time.


In the meantime, it was a lovely misty day. A view of the driveway and the valley below.


The bench on the hill behind the house from a second story window.

2 comments:

  1. Complicated family saga--loved reading it and wish Pete the best. Wonderful pictures of your pals and the misty view.

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  2. Good luck. And yes, it does take time, with some backsliding now and again - our Catkin has settled well, but occasional fights and stressy moments occur occasionally between her and Lottie, and may well be impossible to eradicate.

    Handsome cats you have there though!

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