…into the safely-walled garden, thus letting Tanner out of the basement.
We are going to have to let them meet. We thought about doing it yesterday. But we decided to do it on a day when the vet is open. Not that we’re pessimists. In my fondest dreams, they will establish the basement stairs as no-cats-land and reenact the Maginot Line.
But probably somebody will at least get slapped. Best we can do. Getting them stoned on catnip is not guaranteeing they’re happy drunks. I’ve seen it go pearshaped.
But, well, we will see.
I’ve moved the sonic device to the garage to deter mice. Hoping so.
We did get the window wells in, but have not finished refilling the holes in which they sit.
I have located the pond winter cover, but Jane set it outside the fence and locked the gate, so I do not feel like retrieving it on this rainy day.
We’re approaching the point we trade power to the waterfall for power to the winter floating heater, that keeps gas exchange going during the winter—the fish need one hole in the ice.
Otherwise most of our troubles are allergies.
We are doing the page proofs for Alliance Rising. Looking clean.
Doing raisin-bran meatloaf again tonight. It’s great for this weather. Kinda chilly out, 36 at night, 40’s in the day. We’re going to work up to a sunny 61 on Friday so we are not totally out of cat-exercising weather, but we want to see if we have war or peace while we still have SOME options. I really don’t want to have to get Tanner a kitten for company. I don’t, I don’t. Two is company, three is a crowd, and 4 is crazy cat lady territory.
We have (a happy set of) three cats and I quite agree that four is too much, especially in our little house and only one (very deep) cat box. ‘Course, we also have the two bunnies and four goldfish. Cats and bunnies coexist well… and goldfish provide endless kitty television.
Good luck with the detente negotiations!
Have you actually had luck with the anti-mouse sonic gadget? I haven’t, with the added unbonus that I can hear the durn thing. I have a fancy one with multiple settings… on the “mouse” setting I can plainly hear it (and it’s really LOUD, probably in the ear-damaging range), and on the “microvermin” setting it’s like having a head full of water.
Just leaving the light on in the barn seems to have more effect.
I don’t hear it. What we’re using is Bird-x Yard Guard. Worked on the raccoons. We’ll see about the mice.
Feliway to the rescue!
I use both the spray for things like vet visits (the carrier gets a spritz about half an hour before we go) and the diffusers.
I have one cat that will get belligerent because she’s dominant. So, I have a diffuser in two places where they most hang out. It’s not inexpensive, but not horribly expensive either and it sure makes for less fireworks around here. It’s great for moving house too. The best part is that they both are calmer girls.
Raisin-bran meatloaf? As in leaving in the raisins? Interesting… We did sauerbraten last week, but it was less successful than one might wish, and we have 3 pounds of it now in the freezer waiting for a more felicitous usage.
The monster conference table has been assembled and painted, and had a very good test run last Saturday. All that remains is a coat of polyurethane to make sure it stands up to hard usage. I am pleased my carpentry skills were successful and that it is attractive, sturdy and doesn’t wobble. Last thing is to resurface the steps, which look ‘rode hard and put away wet’, but I believe we have a suitable fix for their wornness.
I had a day of allergic sneezes on Thursday the likes of which God hasn’t seen recently, and fear that I have whipsawed myself into more back spasms. Post nasal drip is making me cough incessantly as well. I still need to finish said stairs, and am irritated that this may need to be delayed. Grr.
Crusty dark bread, sauerbraten and sour cream sandwiches?
It may be too late. Ever been tested for toxo? It’s estimated 11% of the American population over 6 is infected (are there that many cat housholds?), and a recent article I saw suggested it’s high in entrepreneurs, makes them risk-takers!
(Yes, I meant to put it like that. The cat is the “head of household”, is it not?)
I’ve not had much luck with getting an older cat a kitten for company – the one time I tried it the older cat hated the rambunctious playfulness of the kitten who wanted to be friends, he just wanted to be left alone to nap. It resulted in the older cat hiding out from the kitten, who after a few months took over the whole house, and went in any neighbor’s house where there were kids willing to play with it. I had to give the kitten away to a busy family with kids, where it had more people and other animals to play with. My old cat was very relieved it was gone…
Maybe if Sei or Shu slaps Tanner, he’ll be content with his comfy basement with the screen door, without yowling to be let out, as that would draw their attention. Not the best result, but maybe an acceptable one.
Well, day 1—we got a harness on Tanner, and he plastered himself to my leg while there was a yowl-fest from our two, who were perfectly fine until Tanner set them off with at attempt to attack—harness stopped him, and he sat with me and shivered. We gave this up after we’d stopped the yowls, and stopped his shivers, then left the harness on him so we can handle him.
Day 2, we let him into the upstairs, I clipped the leash on, and we stayed to the kitchen while he again set off Shu, and Sei just tried to ignore him. We did persuade Tanner that us holding him, formerly anathema, is much preferable to being on the ground with these two, and he will now sit on laps. If he yowls, we tap his nose and gently cover his eyes, which sometimes takes quite a few repeats, but the yowls are calming down, and our cats don’t care about him so long as he stays to the basement. So after about half an hour of kitty acclimation this morning, we let him go downstairs again, and our cats got their kibble, and all is peaceful. Jane is downstairs with Tanner doing Alliance Rising galleys, so he’s getting petted, ours got kibble, and everybody is being peaceful up here. Cats are very situational: if it isn’t going on, it isn’t going on, so they’ve settled. If he’ll just shut up and quit swearing at Shu, Shu will calm down. Tanner’s the one who’s starting it all. But this time Shu didn’t fuzz-up, and my cat just sat and stared. My cat is the Ninja. Once we can get this calmed down and start trusting them to behave—that’s when I worry about Sei.