Tag Archives: ginger

Taking Walks Again

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During the two months that we were in West Virginia, I did not take Frankie for a walk one time, although he did escape once. Frankie was generally content with hanging out on the catio and didn’t bother me to go outside so I didn’t bother offering. I thought when we got back to Florida he might forget about going for a walk, but not so.

We spent a good part of Sunday unpacking. We started shortly after waking up that day and by about 10:30 that morning Frankie was following me around the house desperately meowing at me. I don’t exactly speak cat but I think I can understand Frankie pretty well. He acts like that when he wants to go outside and thinks there is a real chance it is going to happen. It is like when you say to your dog in an excited voice, “Do you want to go outside?” Of course, the dog will get excited and go around in circles. That is almost the same reaction I get from Frankie but sometimes I get it without saying anything. That’s when I know it’s time to drop what I’m doing and take him out.

He stayed relitively close for a while. He was busy smelling all the plants in the area.

After a while, he started gradually moving away from the house. When we got about eight houses away I decided that was far enough and picked him up and carried him about halfway back before he struggled his way out of my hands. I didn’t care as long as he was walking in the right direction. He spent a lot of time smelling a plant in front of someone’s house that I worried the owner would look out the window and see me standing there. They would probably assume I had a dog and was letting him poop in their yard so I dropped Frankie’s leash and backed away a little.

When Frankie finally did resume moving he walked behind the houses. When we approached our house I picked him up and put him inside. As per tradition, when Frankie comes in, Chris goes out.

I hung around with Chris for a while, watching him eat grass and relax on the cool concrete. After about ten minutes he was done and asked me to open the door for him.

It was a nice break but then I went back to unpacking for the next four hours.

Cats Everywhere

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I looked out the front door yesterday and saw one of the beautiful white stray cats in our front yard.

A day earlier I saw her and another white cat hanging out together at the house behind ours.

Frankie was scratching and crying at the door like he knew someone was out there. I was tempted to open the door so he could look out through the storm door but decided against it. It wouldn’t have mattered because the cat soon walked out of view.

I went back to whatever I was doing but Frankie insisted I let him out on the catio, which is in the back of the house. When I opened the door, he and Floki went out and there was soon a commotion. I looked and saw the white cat walking through our back yard.

By the time I took the above photo the cat had walked through the picket fence. With no more cat, things should settle down. But wait! Suddeny there was more commotion on the side of the side of the catio.

The neighbor’s cat was outside on a table in their backyard and Frankie and Floki both noticed. Fortunately, the cat didn’t come over for a visit like last time and our cats quickly got bored and dispursed.

Imagine if humans acted like that whenever another human walked by. I bet New York City would be even more interesting.

That’s My Blanket

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A couple of friends of ours from Florida, Nancy and Joe, visited us over the weekend. They recently bought a Winnabego and had taken it on the road. On their return to Florida, we were not too much out of the way so they stopped here for a couple af days.

On Saturday, while we were sitting at the dining room table, Nancy was cold so Rose offered her the blanket that she keeps on the couch. The same blanket that Chris loves to sleep on because it is very soft.

While she was sitting there with the blanket over her lags, Chris tried to reclaim the blanket by lying on her feet.

He actually took a nap there on her feet. I guess she will think next time about who’s blanket she decides to steal.

Frankie Escapes

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I was at the supermaket yesterday morning when Rose called me. “Frankie got out!” she said. “And I’m locked out of the house with no shoes on.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’m coming home right now.”

I quickly checked out with what I was able to get and went home. When I arived I saw nobody at first but then saw Rose and the pest control guy crossing the street. The guy was here to do an annual termite inspection and Frankie got out when Rose answered the door.

The man was carrying a fishing net and Rose pointed and said “Frankie is under that truck. As soon as we approached, Frankie ran out.

He ended up under a van a couple of houses down so I asked the guy to push at Frankie with his net. I hoped he would come out on my end but he shot out the front and ended up back under the pest control guy’s truck.

From there he went into the neighbors back yard and was about to jump the fence into our yard but changed his mind and skirted past me. After a little more chasing he ended up in front of our house too pooped to care anymore. I held my hand out and he gave it a good sniff while I move in close enough to grab him.

My biggest worry is that he is unfamiliar with the area. I have been lazy and have not taken him for a walk since he seems very content to just hang out on the catio. With one week more here I don’t think I will worry about walkling him here but once we get back to Florida I will have to do that.

The End of a Good Thing

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My wife and I were on the catio yesterday evening with the cats who were out there much of the day. Frankie, in particular, always wants to be out there.

We talked about what Frankie was going to do after we return to Florida in just over two weeks to our house with no catio. It will surely feel like trying to put the genie back in the bottle.

Even here, Frankie has become quite the pain. As we were getting ready to go upstairs last night to go to bed, Frankie was at the door crying to go out. This morning at 6 a.m., after eating only half his breakfast, he was again at the door crying to go out.

All we can do is let them enjoy it while it lasts. I quess I will have to start taking Frankie for a walk again when we return.

Another Feline Visitor

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The window by my desk overlooks our back yard. From time to time I will see a white cat walk through our yard. I think I saw the same cat in our yard last winter so we must be part of her territory. Yesterday, Frankie and Floki were on the catio and I went out there to check on them. When I did, I noticed their attention fixed on the white cat.

Nobody was howling or hissing or making a fuss. They were just looking at each other.

The last time this happened with another cat it was also a peaceful encounter. I speculated then that it must have been a female because another male would probably have elicited a different response. If I am right, this white cat is probably also a female. If anyone has a reason to confirm or reject my hypothesis, I would like to hear about it.

A Night With Chris – Caught On Video

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My wife left for Virgina on Tuesday Morning for a work trip. I thought it would be a good time to set up my security camera so that you can better understand why we have been closing Chris out of the bedroom all these years. The camera only records when it detects movement. Even so, it recorded over 25 minutes of video. I was able to cut it down a little but it is still long. I should have quadrupled the speed during processing but I just now thought of that. I think after a few minutes you will get the idea.

There is a time stamp on the video so you can see what time it was for each disturbance. Chris was actually pretty good and didn’t start with his shenanigans until almost 1:00 a.m. It’s hard to see but he likes digging his claws into my skin which is what is most disturbing.