The CAT room!

loved the story of Polyanna

- errrm ... grateful? Mikey? ...probably as grateful as Rosie!

We're just back from a week away in Devon and Rosie went to my parents - she refused to eat for the first 2 days, any attempt to stroke her was met with a paw firmly placed on the hand that said STOP it. I was getting worried .... almost car keys in hand and go to fetch her time...

Then she decided to make the best of it and started eating and playing and generally wearing them out by expecting to be entertained non stop!

When i fetched her she was so pleased to see me that she miaowed non stop as she came towards me to make sure i knew she was there and didn't disappear again! She never normally makes a sound, she's a very silent cat. she's been very loving and delighted to be home.

If we stay somewhere suitable i may try taking her another year

msolga vet trips are awful aren't they? does Flatty get terrified?

"When i fetched her she was so pleased to see me that she miaowed non stop as she came towards me to make sure i knew she was there and didn't disappear again! She never normally makes a sound, she's a very silent cat. she's been very loving and delighted to be home."

Aw, that's nice, Vivien! And now she's back in her own territory! That's interesting about her learning to meow ... She obviously wanted to communicate her pleasure & relief at your reappearance!

You asked if Flatty gets the terrors when he travels to the vet? Absolutely! I guess it's because car travel means the vet! He never travels for any other purpose & yeowls all the way there. Great fun! But the trip home is much better. In fact, he jumps into the cage without any prompting once the vet is finished with him! Hot to trot!

You guyz still going ga ga over cats ?

Of course, Gautam! Nothing better than a moggie!

Did I ever tell you about the time I felt sorry for Lacey and Paddy being stuck in the house all the time? {I did tell it on one of these threads, so if I'm repeating myself, chalk it off to a senior moment!}

Anyway, my grandson came for a visit, so I thought this is a perfect opportunity to take the kitties for a ride around the block. We carried them to the car, we all got in and I started the car up, put it in reverse, and Lacey climbed on the dash crying her lungs out ... Paddy just crouched in the seat, but you knew to look at him he was petrified ... we hadn't moved ten feet when I had to give up, my heart was breaking for them, couldn't stand to see them so upset.

They probably would have been fine if we continued on, but it was so sad ... you really had to be there!!!

Misti

I didn't have to be there to imagine the angst. Trust me, I know, I know ....

me too! Timmy was just the same. Casey was frightened but not terrified. We took them on holiday once and Timmy howled for the whole 150 odd miles and was hoarse by the time we arrived - I felt terrible.


Timmy, Casey and Rosie all understood the return journey and never squeaked either - just like Flatty

Rosie is only ok in the car because she had to travel in it so much from a tiny baby - remember she was only 2 weeks old and so trusted me entirely at that age and had to be fed 3 hourly. The car became part of her territory. She isn't happy out of her travelling box though - she sees too much strange territory outside whizzing by.

it will be interesting to see Rosie's reaction next visit to my parents - I'm going to take her up for a couple of hours at the weekend just to reinforce the bonding. I hope the little madam doesn't decide to sulk and be unfriendly again!

Visits to the vet!!! Gulp. Gasp. Thud. I take the case out the night before so that when he sees it, he doesn't panic. Mikey spends the evening, night, and wee hours of the morning pushing the case around the apartment. No matter where he pushes it, it's still there.

Getting him in the case results in my bleeding from somewhere. I use my luggage wheels to move the case. The case and Mikey weigh over 25 pounds! The trip in the cab is mercifully short and NOISY. By the time we get into the vet's office, Mikey is not a happy camper. He has to be muzzled, blindfolded, and wrapped in a blanket. The place I take Mikey has more than one vet. When I first started taking him there, the male vet told me not to bring Mikey when his partner, a woman, was there. Why? He said she's not strong enough to deal with him. Hey, doc. I'm a woman. What am I supposed to do?

Neko: Nekochan is gorgeous.

Oh, Roberta! Oh my goodness, you are a saint, having to endure all this simply to get Mikey to the vet! It's a hilarious story, but I'm certain you're not laughing at the time!
And no doubt you're kept awake, the night before, with all the anxious case pushing around your apartment. I can just picture it.
But the sheer relief you must feel after your mission has been accomplished! It must be bliss.

lovely mental image of Mikey pushing the carrier around!

If i let Timmy see the carrier before i grabbed him then he was GONE and it took forever to find him!

we keep the carrier hidden from Rosie until we're holding her and then it's one quick push and she's in! otherwise she scoots as well and if she doesn't want to be caught she is uncatchable!

Rosie has been very loving since she came home from my parents - maybe absence may do Mikey some good?

No chance, Vivian. Roberta & Mikey are inseparable! It's a co-dependent relationship!

A Flatty moment on a very wet Melbourne morning, today:

As usual after breakfast, Flats heads for the back door & the cat flap to go outside & use the "toilet" in the garden. But one look, & shock horror, it's very, very wet out there! So, pathetic little soul he is, he meows plaintively at me: "Can't you fix this, oh ye with the godly powers?" Sometimes he really makes me laugh, he's so naive.

Similar story here!
It's cold and, while not exactly raining, sort of damp in Sydney (why the hell doesn't it rain and get on with it?!)

Poss went out through the cat flap, around in front of the glass doors, under the eaves, and sat there, looking mournful, and whimpering, as he got up enough courage to race around the corner of the house through some longish (cat tummy tickling) grass to get to his spot of dirt.

Back inside very quickly!

margo

We are RESPONSIBLE for these wimpy, gutless creatures turning out this way! Too soft, too kind, too obliging we are. Time for some "tough love"? Fat chance!

Olga - tough love = quick bleeding! :shock:

But Flatty would just be confused, poor thing. And hurt! Nah, he wouldn't get it. He's a simple soul, but I still love him, never-the-less.

Poor babies. It's cold out there. And wet. Here it's hot and wet. Doesn't matter, though. Mikey is an indoor cat. Just as well. I'd probably have to issue an alert to the neighbors if I let him out. He does have the hall, though. And he's had a few feline encounters out there. And some canine ones as well. Nothing to report. The dog was interested. The other cats were submissive. Mikey was moderately interested in the dog. He didn't care at all about the cats. Maybe he thought they were fleas. He's the biggest cat he's ever met. The biggest one I've ever met, also.

Yes, Olga, we're co-dependent. I've been at home the whole time I've had Mikey. Can't imagine what would happen if I disappeared for a while. I can't imagine who would be foolish enough to take care of him while I was away.

Roberta, my dear,

You know how you like to write?
Well you write so beautifully about life with Mikey. Seriously, have you ever considered a small book on the subject? I think it'd be a winner!
If Doris Lessing can do it so can you!

oh I'll second that! yes, a real gift for writing and a cat full of character to write about .... a winner!

another vote here <but...he's an unbelievable critter!>