Cats
It is exactly a year now since I moved from Toronto, the city I had lived in all my life and fourth largest in North America, to Cobourg; town of 18,000 people. As you can see not one word has been written here in 2015 and honestly I almost forgot how to put up a post but I wanted any remaining blogging friends that I have to know I am alive and well and living the country life.
Nine months after my fiftieth birthday my husband and I pulled up stakes and moved ourselves along with our beloved five cats and dog to Northumberland County. It was a somewhat unexpected change, we had talked about leaving the city at a time in the future, maybe ten or fifteen years from now but then we found ourselves quite by accident in Cobourg and were charmed by the town...three days later we bought this house!
Our transition here has been seamless and surprisingly easy. However, the day we moved the boys out was not seamless and easy it was stressful and difficult. They had been staying safely at my mum's house during the big part of the move. The day we picked them up was extremely hot and humid and the air conditioning in Robert's SUV had just broken that morning. So if you can imagine five tense and overheated cats in carriers all panting, meowing, and (uncharacteristically) growling for an hour, it was without a doubt the most stressful component of the entire move.
Upon arrival, I took them immediately up to our bedroom, put a litter box in our ensuite (temporarily), opened all the closet doors and released them from their carriers. They bolted or slunk under the bed and into the closets, I stayed for a little while talking calmly to them but eventually left when nobody seemed to be listening to me. I said to my husband "they are shaken, I'm thinking this will be a long transition!" Then about half an hour later I noticed their little faces started appearing at the door. No longer frightened but indignant they had been locked in.
I was amazed and even considered making them stay in the bedroom for a while but once they were no longer hiding and sitting at the door it seemed a silly idea. So I let them out to explore the house as they liked. It took them all of a day to acclimate and as you can see from the photos, they have been relaxed and happy here ever since. The dog of course adapts anywhere but as we all know cats can be a little trickier, it was a huge relief for us that the boys did so well in such a short time!
Well there you have it folks, a little update on my furry family....hopefully better late than never :-)
- Boys In The Bedroom
The boy’s lives changed dramatically after Molly died. Because she was very old and frail and sometimes ornery, she lived in our master bedroom exclusively. She did not like the boys and did not want to fraternize with them one bit. On the other...
- The New Door Horror...
Just when I think I know my cats they go and do something that throws me off. I usually like to write my blog on Friday, but we had a new front door installed yesterday and it created quite a cat stir so I decided to post early. Since my guys are indoor...
- The Introductions
Hello folks (if anyone is reading this) and welcome to my blog. I’m very new to the medium; in fact this is my inaugural posting. I have four cats and that is the reason I have started this little project. They are the joy of my heart and the children...
- The Privilege Of Feline Love
This post has been written by blogger Vikki Patis In 2009, during a particularly turbulent time in my life, a friend of my mum's found herself with a litter of kittens. Her tiny cat had given birth to five balls of fluff, and, in a house with four...
- Focus On Fostering
This post has been written by Lizzie, a fosterer at Rayleigh Castle Point & District Branch I started fostering for Cats Protection in August 2013. I had always thought of myself as a dog person and I wasn't overly fussed by cats! I found them...
Cats
City Cats Go Rural...
It is exactly a year now since I moved from Toronto, the city I had lived in all my life and fourth largest in North America, to Cobourg; town of 18,000 people. As you can see not one word has been written here in 2015 and honestly I almost forgot how to put up a post but I wanted any remaining blogging friends that I have to know I am alive and well and living the country life.
 |
| the house and family in caricature |
Nine months after my fiftieth birthday my husband and I pulled up stakes and moved ourselves along with our beloved five cats and dog to Northumberland County. It was a somewhat unexpected change, we had talked about leaving the city at a time in the future, maybe ten or fifteen years from now but then we found ourselves quite by accident in Cobourg and were charmed by the town...three days later we bought this house!
 |
| the actual house |
Our transition here has been seamless and surprisingly easy. However, the day we moved the boys out was not seamless and easy it was stressful and difficult. They had been staying safely at my mum's house during the big part of the move. The day we picked them up was extremely hot and humid and the air conditioning in Robert's SUV had just broken that morning. So if you can imagine five tense and overheated cats in carriers all panting, meowing, and (uncharacteristically) growling for an hour, it was without a doubt the most stressful component of the entire move.
 |
| let us out!!! |
Upon arrival, I took them immediately up to our bedroom, put a litter box in our ensuite (temporarily), opened all the closet doors and released them from their carriers. They bolted or slunk under the bed and into the closets, I stayed for a little while talking calmly to them but eventually left when nobody seemed to be listening to me. I said to my husband "they are shaken, I'm thinking this will be a long transition!" Then about half an hour later I noticed their little faces started appearing at the door. No longer frightened but indignant they had been locked in.
I was amazed and even considered making them stay in the bedroom for a while but once they were no longer hiding and sitting at the door it seemed a silly idea. So I let them out to explore the house as they liked. It took them all of a day to acclimate and as you can see from the photos, they have been relaxed and happy here ever since. The dog of course adapts anywhere but as we all know cats can be a little trickier, it was a huge relief for us that the boys did so well in such a short time!
 |
| Rio at the beach at the bottom of our street |
- Boys In The Bedroom
The boy’s lives changed dramatically after Molly died. Because she was very old and frail and sometimes ornery, she lived in our master bedroom exclusively. She did not like the boys and did not want to fraternize with them one bit. On the other...
- The New Door Horror...
Just when I think I know my cats they go and do something that throws me off. I usually like to write my blog on Friday, but we had a new front door installed yesterday and it created quite a cat stir so I decided to post early. Since my guys are indoor...
- The Introductions
Hello folks (if anyone is reading this) and welcome to my blog. I’m very new to the medium; in fact this is my inaugural posting. I have four cats and that is the reason I have started this little project. They are the joy of my heart and the children...
- The Privilege Of Feline Love
This post has been written by blogger Vikki Patis In 2009, during a particularly turbulent time in my life, a friend of my mum's found herself with a litter of kittens. Her tiny cat had given birth to five balls of fluff, and, in a house with four...
- Focus On Fostering
This post has been written by Lizzie, a fosterer at Rayleigh Castle Point & District Branch I started fostering for Cats Protection in August 2013. I had always thought of myself as a dog person and I wasn't overly fussed by cats! I found them...