Patches Returns!

At the Back Door

I went out to feed the Boys this morning, and who should greet me at the back door, but Patches!  I sat down on the wet back step and he stayed nearby. I had a can of cat food ready, and opened it. That brought him over, but instead of eating it he sniffed my finger.

I was able to pet his head and in an instant, he started to purr and was up beside me and into my lap. I cuddled him close and then lifted him up and brought him in the house. He never stopped purring.

For the next hour plus, he was in my lap getting brushed as I tried to get all the ticks out of his fur. He ate some food, played laser light at least twice and just kept on purring. He's on my lap now as I type this.

I need to go to the feed store to get some Frontline Plus to get rid of any fleas or ticks on him, so that's on the agenda. But I have to wait until I have my conference with my communicator and at least one of the barn kitties.

Which leads to the barn kitties in the sunroom. Once Patches was safe inside, I figured I'd let them back outside. Misty is picking on Pepppercorn off and on, so I thought they both might need to get out where they had more space. So I opened up the window and took out the screen, giving them free access to the outside world.

Oh, great. Misty sat in the fully open window for about fifteen minutes then went back to settle on the carpeted cat tree. Peppercorn made no move either, and curled himself up on the couch.

Now what? Does that mean neither one of them wants to be an outdoor cat?  If they would get along with the indoor kitty crew....well MAYBE. It really is too many cats in the house, but I've had an overstock before.  I just can't see giving them the sunroom for life, though. The other kitties love it in there too and it does cut off some of the circular romping room around the house. (With the sun room closed, running kitties cannot make a full circle around the back of the house, so it does spoil the fun.)

I will have to see what Misty says today during the consult. Maybe a compromise would be to set up the back porch with some super comfy lounging places and leave window open there. The porch already has a cat door, but if I leave that open, I have raccoon and opossums....and an occasional skunk....come in to visit.

So, the saga continues. If Patches shows he wants to go outdoors, I will honor my promise, but for now, he seems really happy to be safe inside.

Now, if it ever stops raining, perhaps I will be able to ride a horse or two and get the "horses" back into the blog.