These Cats Will Be The Death Of Me Yet

As I have said before Precious Kitteh was abandoned by the guy who was fixing up the cabin beyond the treeline behind me. Last August there was some kind of trouble, sheriffs, state troopers, etc. The upshot was that Dave abandoned the property and his kitty. Since I can't see it, even from the road, I was unaware that he also had abandoned the RV he was living in.

Neighbor Ed and family live in the house beyond this property and he is separated from it by a less dense stand of trees. Also, since his home is closer to the road, he can see the driveway. He didn't think much of it when a couple battered up pick ups and some people showed up and drove up the driveway. Squatters maybe, or weekend campers looking for a place to party. We don't know.

They arrived early on Friday night and Ed had to call the State Police with a complaint shortly after midnight on Saturday because they were making a lot of noise and were setting off firecrackers in the woods. Not smart, not smart at all.

I would say that Precious went over to see who was on "his" property. After all, he and Dave lived in that RV for much of Precious's life. This poor kitty managed to keep his trusting nature no matter what he has dealt with so it wouldn't have been hard for anyone to pick him up and put him inside what was his home. At some point on Saturday, somebody did that. Nobody let him out again. They might have planned on it, but anyone using property that doesn't belong to them is suspect to me. With no respect for other's property, why would they have respect for a cat?

On Sunday morning when we started hunting for Precious in earnest, Hubby had stopped to let both Ed and Dwayne know he was missing. Ed at some point on Sunday afternoon thought he was smelling smoke so he went over to the property to make sure the fire they had burning was actually out. He said he kept hearing a cat cry, but when he called there was no answer. He thought about it for awhile and then called us to tell us that he heard what he thought was Precious.

He met us over there and we combed through the brush looking for him and calling to him. We were about to give it up when Hubby went over to try the door of the RV. It opened and Precious shot out into Hubby's arms. Hubby, Ed and Myself all started crying. Hubby carried Precious home and we spent time trying to reassure him that things were alright.

After we saw to it he had a meal and lots of water to drink, he wouldn't come near us. He'd let us walk up to him and pet him, but he wouldn't let us pick him up again. It was really hot in the RV. I was worried about heat stroke, and kept going out to check on him. He stayed in the shade but moved farther from our house down the driveway after each check up. So, I finally just left him alone.

He came in at 4 this morning for breakfast, and then again at 6:30. I should say he tried to come in at 6:30. That was an attempt that went downhill in a hurry because Butterscotch shot out the door and off the deck before I could react.

Butterscotch beat feet to the back of the house with Precious in hot pursuit. I went around the front thinking I could head them off and when I got to where I could see, I saw no cats. I freaked out. I started panicking and calling for both of them when Precious walked around a bush and sat down. I ran to him expecting to find Butterscotch and nearly lost it again when he wasn't there.

Cat people talk to their cats and sometimes we do actually get answers. I asked Precious where Butterscotch was and he crouched down and peered into the base of the bush. Sure enough, Butterscotch was hiding under the leaves. He took off before I could get to him and both Precious and I gave chase. Butterscotch went first under the deck and when he turned around to come back out Precious herded him into the wood shed. FINALLY someplace where I could block his exit and get hold of him to bring him indoors.

Once I got everyone squared away, I sat down and did some checking of prices at Lowes online. There will be galvanized steel poultry netting added to the inside of all the deck rails and there will be gates. I just need to have some way to slow down the escaping Butterscotch until I have time to react. I may not need it since he seemed very scared to be out there but I'm not taking any chances with him. He's an indoor kitty, he's not street smart.

It's kind of funny now, but at the time I wasn't too happy. At that hour of the morning my joints aren't working, neither is my brain. Butterscotch is such a bully to Precious indoors, I was really surprised that Precious went after him. Precious is coming in to eat and leaving as soon as he's finished, but other behaviors are back to normal, so he hasn't forgotten being locked into someplace that he couldn't get out of. This will take some time.