Before we came to Iowa, we decided I would drive our cats Pete and Binx to Iowa before we drove the Uhaul up. I had heard and even experienced before, that pets think you are abandoning them if they are the last to be moved. I sedated them, put them is a cage together, and started on the 13 hour trip. They did pretty good until I would stop for gas. I would get gas, go the the bathroom, and then pull into a parking spot and let them out of the cage to roam the car. Once they realized they didn't know where they were, they would jump back in the cage. Finally we reached the Hayes house and parked the car in the garage. Pete and Binx were freaked out. I unloaded the air bed and my bag while they explored the house. Next thing I knew, Binx was nowhere to be found. How can a cat disappear in an empty house? I opened every drawer and cabinet and called his name. This was so unlike him. I thought I heard a meow once in a while as I yelled for him, but couldn't figure it out. Binx never meows anyway. I went outside to look for tracks in the snow. None to be found. I called my family and told them I lost a cat already. I was in a panic but Mike said he had to be somewhere. I had looked everywhere but then thought about one place I hadn't looked. I opened the hood of my car in the garage and there he was, stuck in the car parts. I was so relieved as I pulled him out. Poor guy, drugged, frightened and stuck.
Pete and Binx were inside, outside cats in Athens but are now strictly inside cats here in Iowa.
I had just painted this window sill! One day he backed up against the wall and had a purple back.
In a way, I am happy that I no longer have to worry about Binx and Pete bringing live animals into the house. It was not fun to wake at 3am to get a chipmunk, squirrel, rabbit, or mouse out of the house. We actually had a box to catch things in, the critter box.
So now, this is all Binx can do, sit and wish.
My sister Mary, who lives a couple blocks away, told me she thought there was something in the walls. She had heard some rustling when she would come over to check on the house before I got here. The first week when I was alone with the cats, I had one chair to sit in while I watched T.V. and sure enough, one night as I sat there watching the television I heard it too. I knew it wasn't a mouse. It was loud, heavy and had claws because I heard them being used as it slid down the inside of the wall. I would have to wait until Mike got here to figure out what we would do.
I noticed the squirrels around here are very large, nothing like in Athens. What is even more exciting are the black squirrels. When I told people about them in Athens, it was hard for them to believe. I think it is just in this part of town because my friend in Rock Island, Illinois didn't believe me either, until he saw one in my parents yard. What do you get when you cross a brown or red squirrel with a black squirrel?
The big brown squirrel was building a nest in our walls because I saw him exit where a piece of siding had fallen out. This black brown guy was also in the walls, stealing nuts from the brown squirrel. So, the rustling in our walls were squirrels. When Mike arrived, he got the ladder out and replaced the siding. He wasn't sure if a squirrel was in the wall when he patched things up.
A day later, I heard the rustling again and was sure one of them was stuck in the wall. I didn't want it to die and have that awful smell. We then realized it wasn't a squirrel, it was Binx. He found a way to get into the rafters in the basement and lay on the ductwork for warmth.
There is a drop down ceiling in most of the basement and he found a way to explore and run on the ceiling. It sounded like the squirrel.
One day I was sitting at the table in the basement and I heard him above me. All of a sudden, a piece of the ceiling fell with Binx struggling not to come down with it. He saved himself.
I am happy to say that Binx is starting to understand what a litter box is. I had traded the Georgia leaves for actual kitty litter and when he saw that, he jumped into the box and started rolling in it, like he did outside in our Georgia yard. Pete saw him do this and ran over to his own box, jumped in, scratched, peed, covered it, and then looked over at Binx with a face that said " that is how you do it".
I was so proud of Pete for teaching Binx. That night, I caught them is deep conversation on how to use a litter box. Binx the gray cat does not look too happy about the situation.
I have seen Binx use the litter box since. This makes me very happy. Thank you Pete!
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