MORE CALIO CAT CAPERS

This girl of ours is proving to be super intelligent and learning so fast.   She has now been with use for six weeks and has, being a cat, taken over our home and our lives.

Candy amazed me a few nights back when I was in the bathroom using my Seretide puffer and preparing to clean my teeth.  I'd filled a glass with water when Candy jumped up on the vanity and began to drink water out of my glass.  I stopped her from doing this and washed out the glass and refilled it.

I'd left the cold water tap running a little and what did she do, after peering at the running water for a few moments, but begin drinking from the tap.  Now it has become a nightly ritual when I go into the bathroom.  I find her waiting outside the bathroom and when I leave the tap running a little, in she comes and up she hops and has a drink of water.  

I mentioned I'd not been able to get her to use the cat door.....well! today she used it to go both in and out which means we won't have to worry about propping it open giving an easy access to flies in hot weather.  As tomorrow is forecast to be 32ºC (89ºF) we feel very pleased about that aspect of it.  For a week or more I'd been gently pushing Candy's head against the little door so knew it would open.  Gradually I pushed a teeny bit harder so she would eventually go through the door.   I'd done that this morning and propped the door open again.  She came in and knocked the little prop away.  We then heard the door swinging and realised she'd let herself out.....all by herself.   The rest of the day she has gone out or come in at will so another problem solved.  Another good thing too is that today she doesn't appear to have used her tray at all so that too will save us time and money as well.

Today she again found a scrunched up plastic bag, brought it into the living room and placed it at my feet with a little miaow as if to say "Present for you mum."  Once she's done that she loses interest in it completely.

Plastic bags are not the only presents we've received unfortunately.  Three times yesterday Phil had to rescue legless lizards Candy had brought in and then to our sorrow it was a honeyeater.  It was already dead so nothing we could do about it.  How on earth Candy caught it we have no idea, but this particular type of medium honey eater does attack our finches cage most days and we are wondering if one had landed on the cage and Candy had been quick enough to catch it.  If ever we see doves we shoo them away and are trying to teach Candy not to touch any birds.  We can only hope we eventually succeed in doing so.

She has still slept on Phil's bed every night for 42 nights but a new routine has begun.  She now hops on my bed, walks around on it, and sometimes on me as well.  She looks into my face as if to say goodnight and then jumps across to Phil's bed and settles down for the night.  No matter how late we get up in the morning there she always is, on the foot of Phil's bad.

As Phil said to me yesterday "This cat has been good for you, Mimsie" to which I replied "I don't think she'd been bad for you either, mate."  She has really filled that huge hole that Precious left behind but she's not taken the memory of Precious away.  She will always be there as she was very precious as well.

Yes we are on a winner here if we could only find a way to counteract those 'smells' she sometimes fills the air with.  I've been told there are biscuits you can buy to counteract this but have also been told by the person who has tried them for his cats that they don't really work.  Ah well, I guess it's a small price to pay to have such a beautiful creature share our home and our lives.