Another bout of nasty weather approaches, so I thought it the right time to open the cat flap.
Weaver left the cottage first followed by Bun and as I predicted both didn’t venture too far in the cold and wet. Roger was beside himself and kept looking at the cat flap then to me as if to say “what’s happening Dad.?”
I tried to keep busy like parents do when their toddlers go to play school for the first time
Hey ho
It's good that you live by a quiet lane. The kitten-cats should be okay. I hope so.
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed
DeleteThat time already! I remember the feeling when mine started going out, and constantly listening out for the click of the cat flap. Xx
ReplyDeleteThe weather has kept them close to the house
DeleteCan remember when my black twins went out for the first time. One turned right and one turned left and both started walking about the cottage but in different directions. An older cat (we had four at the time) was running between the two of them keeping an eye on them. Each time he passed me I got that same looked Roger gave you “what’s happening? Give me a hand here, I can’t check on them both!”
ReplyDeleteAs I write this Roger has stationed himself by the back door
DeleteIt's the hardest part of having a cat
ReplyDeleteIt seemed easier with Albert somehow
DeleteDid they have any problems using the cat flap? I can remember having to show one of mine how to use it, and the other used to shut his eyes as he head-butted it open. Oh, the indignity, when you've got a well-trained human to open a door for you! xx
ReplyDeleteOur dog was confused by the chain link fly curtain. I had to show her how to go through it.
DeleteThe cat flap was broken by Dorothy in a fit of anger
DeleteThe new one needs hanging
Off to adventure!
ReplyDeleteGulp
DeleteWhat about cat litter trays in cages when it's rough like today? The dogs leave the cats/kittens alone. It works for us and we have lots of them.
ReplyDeleteThey have their own litter tray in the west wing
DeleteNext thing you know Weaver will be asking for the car keys.
ReplyDeleteShe’s such a bully , hijacking the school bus more like
DeleteJohn, hi. Ursula here.
ReplyDelete"Keeping busy"? I practically sat on the phone - just in case - the minute I stormed back in after having dropped off the Apple of my Eye first time. For your information: The phone kept quiet - all morning.
Which reminds me: Before letting the kittens out did you have them vaccinated and sterilized/neutered (you didn't last time)? Also, talking about being a responsible keeper, it would have been more thoughtful to let them out on a good day - with you sitting on the doorstep as their "reference" point. But then what do I know that John doesn't know better?
Let me ask you a question not even YP voiced: Where would your priorities lie if you were the father of humans and a keeper of some four-leggeds?
U
( I didn’t last time?)
ReplyDeleteAlbert came from an animal shelter and was fully vaccinated and neutered when he arrived as are the twins
And the choice of day seemed perfect sad the weather will and have kept them close.
Unfortunately and predictably the bad penny returns and she is negative and critical
Boy I bet your mother was a real critic
I had the same "mother was a real critic" thought - mine was and it is an ongoing task for me not to replicate these old patterns. It DOES get easier and is certainly worth the effort. The non-factual remembrance/resentment ("you didn't last time" is also sadly familiar. Love the image of Roger's concern.
DeleteCeci
John, just to stick my two pennyworth in, I think your choice of day was perfect. Not bad enough to cause them any harm, but not good enough for them to disappear whilst exploring. Spot on! xx
DeleteJesus ! The unwanted bitch returns !
DeleteLee
John, if I got my facts wrong - my apologies.
DeleteThough do remember, dimly, one of your lot (maybe it was one of the dogs) having it off with Chris's slippers - on account of surplus hormones (the dog's).
Other than that: Leave MY mother out of whatever any of you have to say to me. My mother was/is (she is alive) a "real critic"? First rule for anyone going into counselling: Stop projecting YOUR life's experiences - particularly if you found/find it difficult to deal with them adequately. I won't tell my mother what you and some of your readers have to say about me. Maybe I should. Oh, would she laugh since to her a spade is a spade and if you have splinters in your eyes she'd advise you to either see a doctor or learn to live with the damage.
U
No projection or more correctly using the correct term of transference , just intuition …..perhaps you should reflect just why , after an “ age” of not commenting your first one back on Going Gently is negative, incorrect and critical .
DeleteI see that as sad
What’s with this old Broad???
DeleteFucking narcissist.
( and I’ve had no counselling training)
Lee
lol
DeleteThey'll be fine, John. They know where warmth, food, and their tribe are and will return when they have explored a little as cats love to do.
ReplyDeleteBut I know it's worrisome in the early days.
That’s what I thought my old friend
DeletePerhaps they'll return bearing gifts?
ReplyDeleteLol. That would make things lively.
DeleteI remember when our cats went out for the first time .... I was so worried !!! Our daughter has just bought a kitten. A golden British short hair. So cute ..... our cats were just moggies !!! XXXX
ReplyDeleteI don’t want to let them out at night , for obvious reasons
DeleteI live on a quiet country lane. My late husband and I always went out with the big kits on their first couple of trips out to show them the garden. Some were fairly adventurous. I don't have a house cat flap, just one in the shed, the flap later broken by something. Some of them didn't like the flap so we just left it minus flap.
ReplyDeleteNow on my own with my new kits, I opened the door for their first time on a quiet, sunny, late spring day. She ventured out a few cautious steps, I followed her, he eventually stood on the door mat! A mother great tit was making a loud cussing noise in the orange blossom tree as she sat with her newly fledged babies, (born in my bird box.) The kits scampered in, scared. Next day he ventured a little further, she, a little more until a delivery vehicle went up the lane whereupon she she shot back in the house, terrified. It was softly softly for a while with me in the kitchen and the door open. They always stayed close as their confidence grew. Then one day I closed the back door and the expression on the little face when she saw she couldn't run straight in to check I was still there.
I have a very big garden so investigating all the new smells, every shrub, learning to climb up trees and chasing each other up and down the long garden path like a couple of thundering racehorses, was as much a pleasure for me as it was for them. Now, 7 months on they are eager to go out in the morning and I always say, "Stay in the garden." !!! 😸 Lol.
Like me, they don't like the wind and having put their nose out of the door, they turn back to their beds and the window.
My garden is small but mandy and John next door have a huge garden which Albert loved
DeleteSorry John, that anonymous long one was from me. I forgot to head it, then ,after trying, it wouldn't let me sign off either.
ReplyDeleteJean.
Thank you for coming Jean
DeleteIt is worrisome when the kids leave home on their own the first time ... and second time ... etc.
ReplyDeleteRoger will feel better when Bun and Weaver come back inside. He does have a sweet strong sense of responsibility, doesn't he?
Hugs!
It’s change he hates
DeleteHaving said that he watched the cat flap for two hours or so until the twins returned to the fireplace
PS. Coincidentally, my cat litter trays are in the West wing too. Lol.
ReplyDeleteJean.
Ooohhlady Mary
DeleteA new chapter begins! 🐈⬛🐈⬛
ReplyDeleteHope Bun & Weaver have come back in, and sweet Roger sees that all's well.
Have a calm & relaxing evening snuggled with Mary, Roger, Bun & Weaver.
I’ve just been indoor bowling
DeleteIt was kinda clever to have their first outing in inclement weather since you surmised they wouldn't wander and would learn how to use the flap. Linda
ReplyDeleteAfter a couple of hours they grew tired of the wet and the cold and curled up in front of the fire !! Phew why am I so worried about them?
DeleteEnjoy hearing about them growing and learning. And Roger...what a lovable guy he is. Linda
DeleteHe’s a sweetie
DeleteOh you are braver than I could have been with the twins.
ReplyDeleteI see what you mean about Roger disliking change. He prefers the comfort of knowing all is safe and secure and I like how he waited for them to return.
ReplyDelete