Not the best of nights, menopause and many-paws woke me up a couple of times. Mewthos was particularly restless and woke me just after I had finally dropped off ... Twice he mewled me awake to lift the duvet so he can flop down in my lap.
Of course, I didn't dare take a shower - chances are, my showering 'out of schedule' will result in my water being turned off again. He likes to shower early in the morning, so the hot water is sort of reserved for that ... and if I attempt to use it up - no matter what my need - they put their foot down. I feel less and less human in what is supposed to be my home ... walking on eggshells! I'm afraid I may be a tad whiffy today, as a result ...
Okay, I've looked at a house. It's in a lovely area, quiet, even though it's only 10 minutes from work. A lady lives there with her children and she tells me it's quite safe. She also says the landlord does repairs when needed - the place needs quite a bit of attention, though. It has only a bath, no shower. Or rather, the shower is outside!?! Yeah, weird ... The garden is a concern for me, though. It's small, and most of it is paved over! And what isn't paved over, is covered with pebbles ... plus, there are some trees which could give my mippies an over-the-fence escape route; as would the Wendy.
I phoned the agent and told her my thoughts. The place is perfect in every aspect - except for the amount of gardening space. I would need a little more ground for my mippies, where they can roll around, curl up under Spekboom, which I'll bring with me, and dig their holes. She said she'd look around and if something comes onto the market, she'd let me know. She has nothing on her books at the moment. I told her a bit how I take responsibility for my cats; cat owners have a - sadly deserved - bad reputation when it comes to responsibility. Too many feel that they are not responsible for what their cats do - whereas I consider their actions my responsibility. I don't want them to upset any neighbours. I mentioned that I know I might have to add an angled fencing to any wall around the property - at my expense.
Sigh, I phoned a few more agents - four cats are too much! Just about everywhere ... Sigh.
Then I found a place that sounds too good to be true - less rent than I've paid in a decade! I called, cats are no problem - and he's even willing to lower the rent, as I'm living alone AND working, i.e. not at home all day. It took a lot of googling, but I worked out why it's so cheap: It is far out on a smallholding! Very far out! It's advertised as 'Onderstepoort' but that's only technically correct. In the sense that Onderstepoort is the nearest named area! Sigh ...
Update: It's actually half as far from work as my current home! Only problem is the shortest route is always on the traffic news - and the alternative also has a heavy-traffic section. I've decided to have a look tomorrow after work. It is a 2-bedroom place and much cheaper than my current home, and they have no problem with 4 cats! Considering the prejudice against cats everywhere, I have to consider another similar situation as this one, I'm afraid.
However, I gather that I am neither the first, nor the only tenant on that smallholding. So I shouldn't have the kind of problems I'm having here. On the other hand, it could turn out to be a Rondavel! That doesn't work for me at all. So, let's have a look first.
Hold thumbs! Yes, I've seen a lot of really nice places, which had a lot of promise ... but I don't know how many of them would allow 4 cats. At least I've started real progress now ...
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