If you said, "I know what a ride is, but what's a catio?" - I'm going to tell you. But first: the ride.
What a spectacular day today - crispy blue sky, sunshine, and a high of 80º... at the end of January. I know that isn't normal, but I'll take it! It's Mother Nature - we have to take whatever she gives, but this was a nice gift from her.
Murphy got a nice morning walk in. Then some music in the living room. Then my Honey joined me for a soak in the hot tub. After we cleaned up, I had her back while we went to Wally World. Yep, the makings of a normal ol' day.
Lunch, then I went out for a ride. I took the new scoot. I grabbed a 360 camera, mounted it on the bike, put the Beatles Channel on my phone, and headed out. A t-shirt under a mesh armored jacket was comfortably cool. Traffic was light as I headed east. A ride up South Mountain was equally unspoiled by slow-moving traffic. South Mountain has become my fun go-to for twisty roads that are close by.
I shot some video, but that will have to be for another day. Here are a few stills...
Yes, the sky was that blue.
When I got home, the previously mentioned catio had been delivered. "What's a catio?" I'm going to tell you... this is a catio...
Well, that is Joan assembling the catio. "It looks like a cage," you say. Yeah, but it isn't done, yet. Think of it as an enclosure that a cat can be in outside, but they can't run off. "So, a cage?" We're not calling it that. This is for Murphy's protection and enjoyment...
We'll put it outside tomorrow. This evening, we're leaving it in the living room, with the doors off, so Murphy can go in and out at will. We'll see how he reacts to being in it with the doors closed. Hopefully, it won't be flashbacks of his time in the shelter.
We like to sit out on the patio. Our other cats have sat out with us, wherever we are. Murphy has enough kitten in him still that he isn't big on just sitting around outside... too many distractions. He does great walking around on his leash. This will give us a chance to hang out on the patio furniture and have him out there with us.
With the catio assembly done, I gave Murphy his supper, then went to Steph and Dan's to feed their kitties. They have work to do at school tonight (this is the day/evening that parents get to pick their kids' school for the next school year)... 1,200 kids (and parents) to guide through the process. All hands on deck. So, Steph asked if I would feed them and give Alfie his daily meds... my pleasure.
After feeding them, I sent Steph a couple selfies I did with the kitties so she could see that everybody is doing fine (and I am doing my job)...
That's Tango and Tasha above. The little orange boy loves everybody. You can tell by the expression on her face that Tasha is very excited about being photographed. Below is Tango and Alfie...
Yep, we're all having fun!
I came back home and took Murphy for one last walk for the day. He is checking out a couple of the "yard cats" Joan has acquired thanks to Vine...
Then back to Steph and Dan's to give Alfie his daily meds. He's a mellow boy - good thing because if he decided to fight me on the meds, he would be a handful. He and Tasha are Siberian Forest Cats, and they are big. This is probably why Tango likes to come visit us - he is a bit bigger than Murphy. Well, they are close in size, but Murph needs to fill out a bit more. All in due time.
2 comments:
Our approach was to screen in the back porch and we chose heavy duty cat-proof screen. That keeps Duke contained but lets him have a sense of outdoors, especially on sunny afternoons like yesterday (63°). A cat flap insert in the patio sliding door lets him come and go as he pleases.
It's funny. We did that screen project so that Duke could be outside with us, since we enjoy the back porch swing a lot. But the secondary effect was that it keeps the moths out. Alice is very adventurous, but is freaked out by common moths. This is a gal who rode motorcycles in Alaska by herself, camped in bear country (packing a .44 Magnum), learned to fly in Alaska, and did all kinds of scuba diving around the world. But a harmless moth totally freaks her out. She really shudders when I catch them in my bare hand. I guess we all have something....
I was picturing you chasing Alice around the house with a moth in your hand. ;-)
A screen porch would be great; then you could sit in the same enclosure with the kitties. Alas, no porch on our house. This catio is the next closest thing... well, except Joan and I won't be in there with Murphy. ;-)
63º in Idaho in January - very nice! I got out on the scoot again today - I saw 80º on my watch while out and about. One more nice day, then rainy and cooler again.
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