Monday, September 27, 2004

Strange Happenings

Hi there,

Riker here. Life has not been following its normal course the last week or so. The family has been leaving early in the morning with ladders, buckets, and drop clothes in tow, and coming home late in the evening half exhausted. It all looks quite interesting. I wish I could go along. From what I have heard it has something to do with stripping wall paper for a friend. I'm not really sure what "wall" paper is... I'm a cat, and even I know paper belongs in printers, or on the floor under the printer, not on the wall!

At any rate, we cats have been spending a lot of time alone with each other lately. This last Wednesday the back door, which had not been pushed shut completely, blew open in a slight bit of wind. For a while we all stood there looking out. The backyard which looks so tiny from the upstairs window looked quite big when seen with the possibility of entering it.

At first it was a fun little field trip, we sniffed at the breeze, chased crickets (we even brought some in the house to show the family when they came home), and watched the birds from a close up range we never dreamed possible. At some point in the afternoon things took on a more ominous tone. When Freckles and Tashi came out to explore, a certain cat (who shall remain nameless) decided it would be a good idea not to let them back inside again!

The family didn't get home until after 10:00pm. Vicki noticed right away that the back door was standing open. The call quickly went out to count us. Tiba, Grace, Mother, and I were all sitting in the living room looking quite innocent, but of course Tashi and Freckles were no where to be found. The family looked under all the beds, and under the stairs. Then they grabbed flash lights and ran around the neighborhood calling for them. I really wanted to go out and help them search, but they wouldn't let me.

They finally found them huddling under the deck in the backyard. There was no way to get to them, and they wouldn't come out, EVEN FOR MILK! By this time it was about 11:00pm, and the Ashtons began pulling the deck chairs around hoping to spook them out. Finally, in desperation, Vicki got out the vacuum cleaner. Boy howdy did that work well!! Tashi always has hated that crazy thing. He came shooting out from under the deck so fast it made my head spin! Freckles followed him soon after and before long the back door was securely closed, and things settled down.

Our little taste of freedom was interesting, but I'm not sure any of us really want to repeat it any time soon. But hey, if the opportunity were to present itself, who knows.

4 Comments:

Blogger Kiwi blogger said...

Well, fantastic adventure there. We can recommend the outdoors but rule one , make sure you can back track !! Have you thought of asking for a cat door ? We have two, just in case !! It helps us that we are miles from any other cats or dogs but what about the rats and mice...you must experience rats and mice . There is much to explore outdoors but remember rule one.
We hate the vacume cleaner too, we practice low level flying when it starts near us.

Bob and Lizzy

9:07 PM  
Blogger Socks said...

Yep, we have thought of asking for a kitty door, but we know we won't get one. We live in a town house in a very busy neighborhood. The freeway is nearby, so there are a lot of cars. There are dogs too! Vicki gets very sad because of all of the groundhogs, squirrels, and deer that are dead along the road. So, for now, while we live in the city, we will have to enjoy all the toys she gets us, and the birds and squirrels we watch out the window. -- The Ocilympics were a great diversion too. :)

9:26 PM  
Blogger Kiwi blogger said...

Well we think you should ask for a rope tree for christmas. At least that way you'll get the general idea.
Doris and Ethel (see profile) started life in the city but lived in a no exit street. Alex on the other hand lived on a main road and paid the price for being adventure cat extraordinaire !! Doris and Ethel had a carpeted and very steep ramp to their attic "bedroom" it was their indoor tree. Also ask for a laser mouse !!
Chris uses one to amuse us, he says it is a cheap (about NZ$18) builders level from the local hardware store. We really like to chase that little red dot .

Bob

10:47 PM  
Blogger Riker said...

The Bearded One has a lazer pointer! Wow, do I love it. :) I like to chase lots of shiny things, the reflection of a watch or cd case on the wall, a flashlight, anything!

9:44 PM  

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