Another reasonably good night. Some trouble getting to
sleep – partially due to coughing when I lie flat, but mostly because my mind
keeps trying to solve one particular issue. The Mips came to join me on the bed
... but where is Ziva? She’s developed a fondness for the folding basket I
usually keep in my boot. It’s currently in the kitchen, and she sort of curls
up to sleep inside it. I carried it – with her in it – through to the bedroom,
which she didn’t appreciate. I finally find her curled up in one of my little
box-like shelves! It would seem she’s into small, enclosed spaces again –
nest-like places. Ai, ai!
Since Ziva shows no interest in coming inside, I let
her spend the day outside. I’m glad to say the Mips accept my ‘No!’ and don’t
attempt to dash outside between my legs, as I go to work.
At work, still no internet. We’ve eliminated several
possibilities, and it’s down to a problem with the account. Only ... nobody
knows the account details, so they can’t work on it, if they don’t know which
account! It was suggested we connect a standard phone to the line, dial a
cellphone to get the number ... I detected a flaw in that, so, rather than
going to the helpful planner to collect the phone, I accepted his offer to come
here with the phone. As I thought, there is no dial tone = no means of dialing
any number! The guys then connected my PC to the router and faffed around to
get the account info off the router. Don’t ask – I don’t understand any of
that!
Since I didn’t get time to download my statements last
night, I couldn’t reconcile last year’s accounting – so I designed the new
sheet instead. And captured this year’s receipts. And the sum total I’ve spent
on the felines this year already is ... freaky! At this rate, they cost me as
much as my monthly rent! And that’s a third of my monthly income!
But the good news is, that they won’t continue costing
at this rate, since a large chunk of that was once-off and/or experimental.
With experimental, I mean the trial and error to find out which food is best,
which litter sand – and most expensively: flea control! Plus, of course, at the
beginning of the year I still had five cats – now I’m settling down to my
three. The food will still take a while to stabilise, since the Mips are still
growing, but I can start getting cans and sachets once a month now at bulk discount
(at Makro). And I’ve currently got about two months worth of food in stock!
The bad news, however, is, that I still have quite a
long way to go until I can keep them truly indoors. I still need to come up
with some means for them to climb indoors, a more stable means to scratch their
claws off (the one I built is kind of wobbly now), and I definitely need
something for the windows. Am I being unrealistic? It would be so much easier,
if I could stop moving around like a gypsy. I want to go and visit Earl, see
how they’ve done it there – they’ve build an entire camp in the garden just for
their cats!
Back at home, I don’t get any time to myself – Mips
insist I come downstairs so they can play in the garden! Since Rose has a
visitor, I take a book. The Mips stay right by my side at first, but then Lady
Jane hops onto the table and from there onto the post – peeking around the
corner up Rose’s stairs! Mewthos also hops onto the table, but they both come
back down. I quickly go upstairs, when I come back I find Mewthos exploring
Rose’s garden! He comes to the fence and I pick him up and lift him back where
he belongs.
Rose comes out – her visitor also comments on how
beautiful the kittens are! I find it strange, everybody from the vet to every
visitor always comments how extraordinarily beautiful these kittens are.
They’re kittens, healthy, happy kittens – but I don’t see how they are any more
beautiful than any other cats or kittens? And isn’t it supposed to be the other
way around? Shouldn’t I be the one finding them all special and beautiful? Ah
well – I don’t do normal, do I?
Well, today Ziva has decided the Mips will explore
Rose’s garden! She first lures Lady Jane into Rose’s garden, and Mewthos soon
follows! They spend literally hours running around, playing, chasing each
other! At one point, Mewthos decides to walk down the path towards the road …
fortunately at that moment a car drives past giving him such a fright he runs
all the way back to the fence, jumps over and runs up the stairs with Lady Jane
right behind him – only: she doesn’t jump over the fence. I’m not sure whether
she can, yet.
Alas, they have not had enough, yet. Soon they are
back over the fence – now both have found the corner by the wall, where they
can get over easily – and back to exploring Rose’s garden. They explore all the
way to where The Terror lives, but fortunately don’t go there. There are dogs
there, too!
At one point, all the cats want to come back to my
garden – I can’t remember the reason, now – but the funny thing is, they each
come sit on the wall corner. One by one. Sit there, look at me, expecting me to
pick them up and lift them over! First Lady Jane, then Mewthos – and the
funniest one was Ziva! She can easily jump over, and she doesn’t like to be
picked up, yet she sits there looking up at me with her beautiful green eyes! So
I pick her up, lift her over, give her the welcome-home cuddle like I did the
Mips.
The Mips are still not done exploring Rose’s garden –
at least Mewthos isn’t. He’s back over the corner and back exploring! Only: The
Terror has arrived! I could chase her off – but I prefer to teach Mewthos a
little life-lesson. He needs to understand that I can’t always be there to save
him – there is no way I can get over the fence and through the gate fast
enough! So: Terror attacks Mewthos, Ziva jumps screaming up at the fence (she
also can’t get over at that point) Mewthos runs towards Rose and comes face to
face with Rose’s tom! Who isn’t doing anything, but they’re not friends, so
Mewthos turns back, but The Terror is in that direction, so now he’s really
scared! Rose manages to grab him and hand him to me and I manage to grab him
and put him down – we both got lucky that neither of us got scratched, since
Mewthos is so scared his claws are out!
Since The Terror stays in sight, all my cats retreat
up stairs – looking down from the top of the wall! So I take advantage and get
smart: It’s near six anyway, so I go up, inside, lock the gate and shut the
door – while all three cats are occupied with food!
Lady Jane is in intensive need of attention – again!
She just cannot get enough, so eventually I plop her next to Ziva. Ziva also
wants lots of attention – she sits up in ‘her’ basket in the kitchen looking up
at me with those soulful green eyes! After Ziva, Lady Jane needs intensive
cuddling – yet again! Only Mewthos isn’t demanding attention today. I know he
wants some, too, but he’s not demanding – for now.
I’ve had dinner, now I want to take a bath and then I
can spend more time intensive cuddling whoever needs it. They really are so
much like teenagers! They don’t listen when I call wanting to be all grown-up,
but wanting love and cuddles like babies! Add to that a mommy who isn’t a
mature adult, yet, either – and you’re getting and idea how hard this ‘instant
family’ can be! And let’s not forget – I can’t reason with them in any language
I speak. I have to figure out ways to ‘explain’ my reasons in a way that cats
can not only understand, but will also accept! It helps a lot that we have a
bond of trust and love – even Ziva trusts and loves me. And we’re all doing our
very best to work together, help each other, understand each other.
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