Monday, September 17, 2007

The great escape

The catlets were allowed outside yesterday. They were very nervous – Sirius was actually trembling, though did venture out, taking little trips further and further from the door. He eventually became extremely excited and dashed enthusiastically around. By contrast, Cassie took a long time to put even a paw out and then kept withdrawing it. In the end, however, even she went outside for a short time. It had been raining, though, and everything was a bit wet so they keep getting damp feet.

The four of us – Daughter 2, Son, my husband and I – hovered around like anxious parents all the time they were outside. Eventually it got too much for our nerves and we ushered them inside again.

My husband has installed a catflap in the door from the kitchen to the garden – though we haven’t introduced the kits to this yet. I really, really don’t want to come home from work to find a scene of devastation featuring little furry or feathery corpses so we’ve equipped the twins with collars adorned with bells in the hope of warning off the local wildlife. I wonder if the bells will work. (I hear hollow laugher echoing round Blogland.)


As well as the bells, the collars have magnets to unlock the catflap magnetically when the catlets approach. Or that’s the idea.
We’ve been accustoming them to the collars for a few weeks, on and off, but once the magnets were added, a couple of problems immediately arose.

1) The bells stick to the magnets; the rattly bits inside the bells stick to the magnetised side of the bells; and the bells become silent. We solved this one, though, by putting the bells and the magnets on opposite sides of the buckles. Cunning, eh?

2a) If a cat walks too close to the fridge, freezer, washing machine or tumble drier, there’s a dull “clonk” and the feline finds itself attached to the appliance: a furry little fridge magnet. Sirius has established that a firm, manly yank will disengage him while Cassie simply collapses on her side in the opposite direction and frees herself that way.

2b) When they curl fluffily up together, they tend to become attached at the neck. They can unlink themselves by pulling firmly apart, but this needs a certain amount of coordination which isn’t necessarily one of their talents.

Don’t say I don’t bring you thrills and laughter from the Life household’s weekend.

There are other things in our lives beside cats. I just can’t recall them at the moment.


Later, Daughter 2 and the cats needed a nap to recover from the excitement. Napping is a talent that the three of them share.





25 comments:

  1. Georgous kitty cats! I love your name. I read a story to my children at school today called Isabella's Bed by Alison Lester. We talked about people we knew with that name, so when I saw yours, I had to reply.

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  2. That had me laughing out loud! Your poor magnetised kitty-cats.

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  3. That was a great 'post'. And yes, you do entertain me with your cat stories. The magnets are sooooo funny. I can just picture a kitty stuck to the fridge!!
    Thanks for sharing and putting a smile on my face.
    Joni

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  4. Ok now that was funny...about the magnets and the fridge and the conjoined twin-ness when they get too close...that's what I needed so near the end of my workday!

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  5. Ohmygosh Isabelle! You're so funny! The kitties are getting very big too, the brave little dears. It's so frightening to go out into the big wide world. How do they wrestle with each other without sticking together? Poor Scruff isn't allowed out except for VERY brief walks on the patio with us hovering just like all of you did. His predecessor disappeared one day and we've always suspected that maybe something wild got her. But then, maybe she just found a better gig elsewhere!

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  6. Funny to read about the cats and collars:-) What protective people you are!

    You asked about our 40 acres - it's what we call a lifestyle block, (small farm) we live in Palmerston North, (go and take a look at your map!) we are just on the outskirts of the city. As we run a business we lease the 40 acres to a local farmer so he can graze his cattle. We have approx. an acre around the house - at the moment with a very overgrown garden.

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  7. Brilliant, Isabelle... I can just see the furry fridge magnets. I howled with laughter.
    Napping seems to be overtaking the land as I speak!

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  8. I always wondered about those magnetic things, we contemplated getting the system to prevent interloper neighborhood cats from stealing catfood.

    I think my girl-kitty would also go with the pathetic flop technique of detaching herself from an appliance. She might squeak piteously for a bit first.

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  9. Hee! I've always admired the magnetic cat-flap Idea - and NEVER thought of the magnetic problems!
    I suppose they take it well, though...

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  10. Little magnetised kits! I went out with a bloke who had a cat flap like that, and the same thing happened to his poor pudder... although he was a lot bigger than your two little lovelies :oD

    As for the bell, my moomin once put a bell collar on our cat Coco, except that she thought it was the neighbours cat (who used to terrorise her) giving chase, so she walked around looking very scared and forlorn, eventually it had to come off. She wouldn't come near us for days after that... who could blame her? :oD poor thing.

    Hope those kitties enjoy their Gullivers outdoors :o)

    B.

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  11. The cats are growing up!! I remember letting our two out for the first time and hovering at the back door too! Ours have got magnets and bells - we've found that they come home with assortments of rusty nails and hairclips attached to their collars!!!
    Kim x

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  12. We can be entertained for hours with stories of those 2 little fur balls! Nice post Isabelle.

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  13. Hi Isabelle - just found your blog. I too was laughing at the magnetised cats - I don't recall having that problem with our cat when we had one of those things but our appliances were away in a cupboard which would explain it. I do however remember being baffled by the fact that one of the neighbourhood cats was still getting through the flap. Until the day that I found Catface (we are nothing if not original with names!) sitting patiently by the catflap to allow her pal in for a free meal. Back to the drawing board.....

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  14. Isabelle, what an amusing life you lead. That's a lovely photo of your catnappers.

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  15. I loooooove the last photo! They all look so cozy!!!

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  16. You had me roaring with laughter! Nothing hollow about it....So, the plot thickens, eh? Now we have conjoined twin tigers. How sweet they look.....your daring little adventurers!

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  17. Ahh thank you for that laugh. I love the image of the cat magnet on the fridge!

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  18. This was their first time outside, I take it? And by the look of it, a big beautiful world to be explored.

    They can do anything. They're kitty scientists, who have thoroughly explored the principles of magnetism.

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  19. Those magnetic collars sound a treat! Wish I'd thought of that, at least they will eventually learn to pull the fridge door open...
    Too funny.

    gosh, its a big day for the babies, out into the wilderness like that. They look astounded at it all.

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  20. Perhaps you could get an extra-strong magnet and then when you let the kittens outside and want them to come back in, you could stand at the door with your magnet and watch them come flying.

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  21. Cute, cute, cute! Am here via The Gym isn't Working, and yes - I'm an Edinburgher too!

    Just, fyi, our murderous wee beastie has a bell on his collar. He's no less murderous.

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  22. Oh goodness!! What a great word picture! Thank you for a good laugh this afternoon!!

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  23. You have to keep them inside with those magnets! What happens if someone walks past with a metal wheelbarrow? Clunk. You will never see them again!

    Seriously though, "they" reckon that if you put butter on the paws of cats when they go outside for the first few times, they will always be able to find their way home.

    I, personally, think cats are far more intelligent than that, and will always find home, that is where the food source is.

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  24. Chuckling all the way through this post, Isabelle! Topsy puts one paw out on the back step on a wet day, and instantly withdraws it! I pushed her through the catflap one day right out on to the wet path, just to see what she would do. She couldn't get back inside quick enough!
    BTW, Helen of Helen's Haven has had a stroke and is in hospital in Perth. See Patra's Other Place for more details.

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  25. Oh, ho ho! That had me laughing outloud! I am not a big cat fan (sorry!) and picturing the cats stuck to the fridge really tickled me! I found your blog through Yummers' blog (which I was visiting for the first time) and your name caught my attention. Daughter #3 has the middle name Isabel, so I HAD to check out your blog! :)

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