My parents have always had both dogs and cats. Usually, the cats and dogs did not get along. Their current dog Kaya did not get along with the previous cat at all. So when they got Freddie Pip we all suspected they would not get along either.
They do however!
This is probably mainly because Freddie Pip is not scared of Kaya at all and does not run away from her. Dogs tend to enjoy chasing cats that run away from them and cats tend to hiss or swipe at dogs.
These two quite like each other though. They’ll sniff each other when one of them comes inside. When Freddie Pip is in the dog bed, the Kaya sits outside her bed and looks sheepish. But when Kaya is in the dog bed first, Freddie Pip just joins her 🙂
In this series of posts I share some anecdotes from my life as a cat sitter. I promise these stories are all true, though the cats’ names have sometimes been changed to protect their identity 😉
Today: the cat that was stuck behind the kitchen cupboards!
It was my very first time looking after these two cats and during the meeting Phil was happy to see me, but Bagheera was very shy and wanted to hide. That is OK. I am patient and it takes as long as it takes for a cat to trust me and feel OK around me.
His owner showed me where Bagheera likes to hide (under the bed, in the wardrobe, but also behind the washing machine).
First visit: Bagheera was nowhere to be found! Impossible, because these are indoor only cats. Still, I did not see him anywhere despite looking everywhere, even inside the washing machine.
Then I heard something. It sounded like scratching. I realised where he was: behind the kitchen.
You might wonder how I knew this: he was not the first cat that had got stuck behind the kitchen. I knew of two others who had got stuck behind the tall cupboards of the kitchen (not on my watch I might add).
As much as I wanted to give Bagheera time to get used to me, I had to make sure he was OK and not injured. I had no idea whether he’d climbed down on purpose or fallen down accidentally. Time to put my DIY skills to use and remove the skirting board (a remarkably easy click-on system). I saw him stuck next to the fridge trying to climb back up but unable to get any grip. I got hold of him and gently pulled him out and checked him over. He was OK, no visible injuries and not showing any signs of pain when I checked him over.
I let go of him and soon the mystery of whether he’d climbed down or fallen was solved: he ran away, jumped onto the kitchen worktop, jumped onto the tall cupboard and went right back down again!
I left the skirting board off so at least Bagheera could come out after I’d left and would not be stuck in his predicament. However, I also blocked off the top of the tall cupboards to make sure they were cat proof.
Lesson learned: I now always ask whether the kitchen is cat proof or whether there are any gaps behind tall cupboards where the cat might get stuck.
We’ve been getting to know our new boy Rune and the types of games he likes.
Similar to almost all young cats I know he is very playful and requires many play sessions every day.
One of his favourite toys is the tunnel. He throws himself into it at speed and rolls around the room in it. He prefers to play with the tunnel and fishing rod style toys at the same time.
As anyone who has lost a dearly beloved cat knows the house can feel incredibly empty afterwards. And although Dirk is still missed every day, we adopted a new cat to brighten up our days and bring us joy.
Meet our new guy: Rune
He’s nearly two years old and chatty and playful, but also a bit shy. He’s settled in quite well and loves his two climbing trees.
I’ve written before that my family had cats all my life. My grandmother had cats all her life and when she moved into long-term care her cat moved in with my parents (and ruled the roost!).
I’ve talked about our ginger cat Harrie before and wanted to introduce some of the other cats who have lived with us over the years. So the family cats will become a recurring blog.
It seems apt to start with my parents’ current cat: Freddie Pip. She has a double name because my niece and nephews wanted to name her Pip and my father wanted to name her Freddie due to a certain physical resemblance to a famous singer.
She is quite the character as you’ll find out! She was born at my aunt’s farm and initially not much of a hunter. Nowadays, however, she catches lots of mice – and eats them all, or should I say whole? As my mother says whenever Freddie goes outside, “catch the mice, leave the birds alone” and Freddie usually listens 😉
Next blog in this series: Freddie Pip and my parents’ dog Kaya: do they get along?
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