I tangled with a black cat last night, which seems to be appropriate this being the week of Halloweenl. This cat, a kitten actually, is the current youngest member of the feral cat family who adopted us. We’ve had a full grown black cat hanging around now and then ever since we moved in twelve years ago. I’m very sure that our amazing cat “Muffin” was from the same family. After Muffin went to kitty heaven two years ago we started leaving food for the black cat when we saw it in the yard. Then last year a grey cat was seen eating the dry food. We shooed the grey car away until one day when we saw her sitting in the back yard and a kitten came up and sat next to her. Oh dear, we are suckers for that kind of thing. One cat led to another and the family grew to a constant size of 6 or so, not that they are all here at the same time. So morning and night we dutifully put out several bowls of dry cat fool.
We’ve noticed a couple of the adult cats spending more time around the back door lately and someone in this house decided that perhaps they wanted to adopt us. Some days, if we left the screen door slightly open, they would step into the house and have a brief look. Yet as soon as one of us humans moved, BAM – they were out the door in a flash.
Yesterday we noticed an odor. Being cat people we thought we recognized the smell but knew the cats had not been in the house to wander around. We thought maybe the house was just a little stale, or the trash needed to be emptied. Hubby and I were working in the office last night and heard several soft meows. Then we heard noise. Hubby stuck his head out the door of the office and there it was – the black kitten inside the den, trying to get out the back door. Simple solution – go over and open the door.
Black kitten does not understand simple solutions. As soon as we moved the kitten took off running. Luckily, being cat people, we have a process for that. Shut the doors to all the rooms and start searching one by one, remembering that a black kitten can hide quite well in a very small space. Bathroom 1 – No. Bathroom 2 – No. Bedroom 1 – No. Bedroom 2 – BINGO! I shut the door behind me and the chase was on. Dang! That kitten moved like lightning. I thought I had it cornered under the day bed, and when hubby peaked into the room all he could see were my legs sticking out from under the bed. He made some remark about wishing he had a camera . . . . . .
That kitten was up, down, over, under, through, and under again. But finally he crawled under a pile of pillows, and I was able to throw a sweater over him long enough to grab him by the neck. I should have left it at that but decided to hold the kitten instead. Kitten decided not to cooperate and turned into a whirlwind in my arms, leaving some “mementos” of his sharp claws. He jumped down and took off, but by then hubby had the back door open and all the other doors closed, so kitten got safely outside, and I headed off to wash my arm and put on a good dose of antibiotic salve.
Well, that was exciting, but the fun wasn’t over. Sitting on the sofa I noticed that smell again, and being a cat person I knew there was just one way to find it. Room by room, hands and knees, looking under furniture and sniffing. Found it! First room I looked in, and in a fairly easy spot for clean up. On the bright side, a kitten leaves less poo that an adult cat. Move furniture. Hands and knees. Pick up. Spray disinfectant. Wipe down. Spray again. Take all the paper towels out to the trash. Go back to sitting on the sofa with the screen door securely shut!
And all of this thanks to one little black kitten.
Every Day Is A Good Day. VJ
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