Cat Update
Since I acquired my part-time cat Dexter back at the beginning of the month, a few things have happened. He showed up randomly for a while, sometimes after midnight on weeknights. And he would come in and eat and drink and settle down and sleep for a while. Also, we put a collar on him the first day he was here, which was gone when he came back the next morning. But later in the week, the collar was back, so clearly somebody else was taking care of the cat. Last weekend, when I wasn't doing anything during the days he got into a pattern of showing up in the late morning, coming in and eating, and then napping until about 5pm. At that point he'd want out and I wouldn't see him again until the next morning. This happened through Monday, which I had off for MLK, Jr. Day. He left after his nap and sat down at the foot of the stairs outside. I closed my door and looked back a few minutes later, only to see one of my downstairs neighbors scoop him up and take him inside her house.
So the mystery of who else took care of Dexter was solved. He probably tried to show up during the week when I was teaching, but hey, I wasn't there. On Wednesday and Thursday he showed up a little after 5 and came in to eat and then left, almost immediately. The last straw came later on Thursday night, when he was sitting at the foot of the steps and meowing, but refused to come up and come inside. So Judy and I went out to adopt a cat from PetsMart yesterday. We found a really friendly, adorable, and super-fluffy female cat named Roma (shelter name, her new name is pending), and after some running around and paperwork, I took her home. They wanted us to leave her in the bathroom for 24 hours so she could adjust to her new surroundings, but we put her in the spare bedroom instead. She actually used the litter box, which is better than Dexter ever did around here (he peed in my closet).
By last evening, though, she was ready to come out, so we let her explore the apartment for the rest of the night. I was getting bummed because she wouldn't sleep, and I could tell she wasn't completely comfortable yet. But every time I petted her, she started purring, so it was good. When I went to bed, she settled down on the floor at the foot of my bed and stayed quiet all night and mostly slept. Today she's been much more normal, sleeping a lot and only getting up here and there to eat and use the litter box and get some affection. So she's adjusting.
BUT- Dexter showed up this morning, looking to come in. I decided I wasn't going to let an indoor/outdoor cat mix with my new, permanent indoor cat. So I made up little bowls of water and food and let him eat outside my door. But he still hung around hoping to get in. Around this time, the new cat woke up and I went to pet her (after petting Dexter), and all that fluffy hair stood straight out! So I washed my hands and tried again and there was no problem. Next I opened up the blinds, opened the window a crack, and let the new cat look out the window at Dexter. Instant animosity. She actually started growling at him and even did a brief yowl at one point. That's when I shut the window. But she stayed on the sill growling until he went away. So yeah, glad I did that little experiment first. Dexter is no longer welcome in my apartment, but I have an adorable and friendly new cat! Yay!
So the mystery of who else took care of Dexter was solved. He probably tried to show up during the week when I was teaching, but hey, I wasn't there. On Wednesday and Thursday he showed up a little after 5 and came in to eat and then left, almost immediately. The last straw came later on Thursday night, when he was sitting at the foot of the steps and meowing, but refused to come up and come inside. So Judy and I went out to adopt a cat from PetsMart yesterday. We found a really friendly, adorable, and super-fluffy female cat named Roma (shelter name, her new name is pending), and after some running around and paperwork, I took her home. They wanted us to leave her in the bathroom for 24 hours so she could adjust to her new surroundings, but we put her in the spare bedroom instead. She actually used the litter box, which is better than Dexter ever did around here (he peed in my closet).
By last evening, though, she was ready to come out, so we let her explore the apartment for the rest of the night. I was getting bummed because she wouldn't sleep, and I could tell she wasn't completely comfortable yet. But every time I petted her, she started purring, so it was good. When I went to bed, she settled down on the floor at the foot of my bed and stayed quiet all night and mostly slept. Today she's been much more normal, sleeping a lot and only getting up here and there to eat and use the litter box and get some affection. So she's adjusting.
BUT- Dexter showed up this morning, looking to come in. I decided I wasn't going to let an indoor/outdoor cat mix with my new, permanent indoor cat. So I made up little bowls of water and food and let him eat outside my door. But he still hung around hoping to get in. Around this time, the new cat woke up and I went to pet her (after petting Dexter), and all that fluffy hair stood straight out! So I washed my hands and tried again and there was no problem. Next I opened up the blinds, opened the window a crack, and let the new cat look out the window at Dexter. Instant animosity. She actually started growling at him and even did a brief yowl at one point. That's when I shut the window. But she stayed on the sill growling until he went away. So yeah, glad I did that little experiment first. Dexter is no longer welcome in my apartment, but I have an adorable and friendly new cat! Yay!