The other side of the fence and other things – Week #2

During the second week I have been getting used to the routine here.

I wonder why they won’t take down the balloons at the entry way door, the terrace door in the livingroom and their bedroom? Don’t they trust me? It must be the yearning I have in my eyes when I sit on my scratch post or when I stand up against the window looking outside. As much as I have thought about it, there seems to be no way around these balloons.

I like to follow them around the house. THEY get to go outdoors anytime they want, but THEY don’t allow ME to go outdoors every time with them.

In this house livingroom, diningroom and kitchen are connected. Between the livingroom and the kitchen there is a sliding door. From the kitchen and livingroom the hallway can be entered. Guess what they did? Mr. & Mrs. Nice put the door handles upright!! Don’t they know that I cannot open the doors like that? One would think they’d have given this much better consideration and thought about my needs!! When Mr. Nice mows the lawn and Mrs. Nice works in her flower beds, they trick me. Quickly they lure me into the entry way and they shut these two doors. Then I have to stand against the doors, make the most miserable sounds, waiting for their pity … but to no avail. I am not allowed back in until the yard work has been completed and I can go outdoors on a leash with them. That’s not fair, Mr. & Mrs. Nice! You better believe me, I will remember when they use the trick on me next time. I am wondering this may have something to do with my first Saturday here when Mr. Nice had to climb through the kitchen window?

Mrs. Nice noticed I was loosing some hair on my right ear. It worried her. She is always worried about me, my (now) beautiful shiny coat, that I drink enough, and eat enough. Something else that she cares very much about is cleanliness. My scratch post is being vacuumed every other day. She says, even though I don’t shed as badly as her old shorthair cat Streaks, she does not want my hair everywhere. When she vacuums I watch from a distance. As strong as this vacuum cleaner is, I am surprised it does not suck the carpet up as well. When she is done, I get right back up on my scratch post. As you see, I have my personal maid as well. That’s a life of luxury. They didn’t do this in the animal shelter.

Mr. Nice always told me during the first week, that he doesn’t care to walk along the fence in the yard all the time. He likes to sit in one spot and cuddle. Doesn’t he know that I am curious about what’s past this fence? Who cares what he likes? My needs are important!

Mrs. Nice started taking me past the fence on the leash. Now I know what the front of my house looks like. It is very sunny there in the evening. Mrs. Nice and I sit there on a pretty bench. She gives me enough leash so I can go across the street to the other neighbor’s fence. I smelled another cat there, too. There is a nice lady with a husband and another set of twins living there. They came out to welcome me to the neighborhood and warned me about some of the mean cats around here. There is Tommy, another cat in the neighborhood, who watched me during my first outing on the other side of the fence. Mrs. Nice tried to make him leave, but he kept following from a distance. I’ve got to watch out for this fellow. We even walked to the creek which was neat. I wonder what comes after the creek?

Here is where we sit when we go out front.

When I get tired of being on the other side of the fence, I walk back into the garden with Mrs. Nice. It is usually time for me to eat something and get some rest.

This is the view I get. Now tell me, would you run away from here?


This all I have to tell you about my second week in my new home.

Taking it nice’n easy

I finally met the missing member of the family. He’s not home much, but I guess that’s normal when you are his age. He has a twin they tell me, who has already moved out. I guess young Mr. Nice is the one I need to wrap around my paws if I want to sleep on a real bed every once and while.

Do you think he would mind when he is not home or at work if I laid down there a little? Look at the picture of him and myself. He likes ME, Stella-The-Cat. I greet him when he gets home from work with Mr. Nice and cuddle with him just like I do with Mr. & Mrs. Nice.

Mrs. Nice is at home at the moment because she is not feeling too well, so I really need to enjoy the time while I have her for company during the day. She’s told Mr. Nice that I am like medicine for her – whatever that means. I just love that I get held, my coat brushed and attention whenever I need it.

Mrs. Nice is busy in the house and doesn’t always have time for me when I want it, but I have learned to get her attention. I just jump up into her lap and make room for myself. Who could resist when I do that and when I purr like I do?

Mrs. Nice is stricter than Mr. Nice and she tells him about the little tricks I use. She caught me jumping on the diningroom table and I reeeeaaaly got fussed at for that. I better not do that again. As it is with everything in life, you have to try something to find out if you are allowed to do it or not.

I don’t jump on kitchen counters either. Mrs. Nice thinks I have really good manners. On the couch I have a soft blanket where I am allowed to sit. My favorite spot is on Mr. Nice’s belly. Here is a picture Mrs. Nice has taken when I do that. Mr. Nice thinks this is pretty funny how I demand attention and compares me to the cat his family used to have.

Approximately during the middle of my first week at my new home, I felt good enough to start talking to my family. Now I meow and they talk back. At first, I wouldn’t do that and they thought this was strange. Don’t ask me why, but talking to them makes things much easier. They seem to understand what I am telling them.

The very first Saturday in my new house Mr. & Mrs. Nice worked outdoors in the garden. Hey, I wanted to go there, too. The door was only pulled shut. I jumped up, but the door did not open. Terrace doors seem to work differently than the regular doors in the house. You should have seen all the excitement escalating outside. Suddenly I hear someone working on the kitchen window which was on tilt and here comes Mr. Nice through the kitchen window. He is no small fellow, you must know. Pretty smart, don’t you think? Going out the terrace door and coming back in through the kitchen window. The next time I went to my terrace door there was a balloon hanging there. What a surprise! It looked so inviting and I jumped against it. Have you ever heard a balloon pop? Surely, you have, but you don’t know the effect it had on me. It really scared me. I wonder why they did that?

One night I wanted to play with Mr. Nice, but he was in bed already. Mrs. Nice was at the computer. Naturally, I went upstairs, jumped on the door handle, grabbed it with both paws and my weight opened the door with a loud sound. That must’ve scared him! Quickly I was put back into my basket in the livingroom by Mr. Nice. I don’t think he was too happy about me waking him up. The next day they had a balloon on the bedroom door handle as well. I am scared of balloons, so I’ve decided not to try that one again.

I can’t complain, though. Every day I get to go outdoors. Early in the morning, Mr. Nice brushes me before he is off to work. When Mrs. Nice is up I get more food, more loving and lots of attention. I think I will try not to upset them and mind them. Looks like I am the one being trained, doesn’t it?

That is a summary of my first week in my new home. The story of week #2 follows soon.