Relative Something

Of course, you must expect that the newly adopted kitties are commanding the majority of our attention over the last few days. They are doing amazingly well in their new environment.

The first night was a bit like having a new baby. We were awakened about every two hours, and there were some sad-sounding cries in the night. Luckily, the cup that got knocked off the top of the dresser at about 2 a.m. was an empty plastic one, so it made a lot of noise, but didn’t break, and nothing spilled.

blurry nighttime cell phone capture of cats resting comfortably

The second night was great. They must have been tired, because they slept most of it.

Yesterday, after the cats had been here for just a day and a half, we opened up the bedroom door to let them roam. Pequenita was in her glory, but Mozyr was a bit intimidated. Unfortunately, very early in his explorations, a small end-table that had been pushed up against a window ledge, toppled out from under him. That scare sent him immediately back under the bed.

I had a project going on downstairs, and ‘nita was keeping me company and checking things out. We have a tall, empty wardrobe box left from the move, which allowed her to demonstrate her impressive jumping abilities. I think she startled herself a bit in the process, and came out of it a lot more nervous than when she went in.

In the basement, most of the ceiling is finished, but she found that climbing to the top of the storage room allows access above the ceiling tiles and into the rafters under the floor of the first level. Hopefully, while she was cleaning out all those cobwebs, she was leaving her scent behind to give notice to the mice that there are a couple of new sheriffs in town.

I got nervous about her being up there because, before we had cats, Cyndie had put out poison, and I don’t know where rodents may have stashed what they hoarded. I didn’t want Pequenita to discover a stash somewhere above the ceiling tiles. When I got her to come down again, I decided the adventure had earned her a chance to go back in the bedroom for the rest of the afternoon.

When we decided we’d be getting cats, I had to pull out all the snapping mouse traps we used to have inside. I moved them out into the garage. Yesterday morning I found my first mouse frozen in the jaws of one trap. I reset it, and by afternoon, had another one at the same location.

Maybe, if I can catch all the mice in the garage, before they even get to the house, our cats will have an easy job of it. They will be able to spend their days lounging in the sunshine that beams through the doors to the deck, while watching all the birds and squirrels put on a tempting show outside.