Week #9 - Sneaking my way into the bedroom

I cannot remember whether I have told you that Mrs. Nice didn't really like for me to take my naps on her bed. At first the bed was completely off limits.

Then I started joining her in the morning when she would make the bed. She'd open the shades and I could sit on the window sill and look outside.

One day she left the bedroom door open and I laid down on the bedspread. She thought it was cute. The rule changed to: Stella may rest on the bed, but the spread must be on the bed.

Another rule was that I could not sleep in the bedroom at night. They put the door handles upright to keep me from opening the door and hung a scary balloon there which would pop when I jumped at it.

Then I would sleep in between the hallway and the bedroom before they came to go to bed. I must've looked so cute and they didn't want to wake me, so they left their door open and put the blanket on the floor. Mrs. Nice softened and put my little basket into their room for me to sleep in with the condition that I would not come into their bed.

One night I thought I'd give it a try. Mrs. Nice went to bed and I jumped on the bottom part of the bed. Mr. Nice started laughing and they let me stay there under the condition that I stay at the end of the bed.

Can you see the progression? This is the way to do it .. be sneaky about it, be cute and they will let you do anything. That's my story for week #9. Gotta go and check out the neighborhood! Have a nice weekend!

Week #8 - Being a lazy cat

Not much happened during my 8th week at my new home. I have pretty much taken over the house. Training Mr. and Mrs. Nice is progressing well. During the week it rained a lot and I stayed indoors and enjoyed lots of hugs and peace & quiet. The weekend was sunny and I wanted to take the opportunity and be outside a lot.This is the chair Mrs. Nice likes to use outside a lot. I found it is a really nice place to relax and take it easy. I wonder if I could have it? Don't think so ...

Have I told you that I enjoy watching television. My servants think this is funny and of course, they've taken a picture of me.

My favorite spots when I can't go outdoors are my scratching post and my basket. Since I have been living at my new home, I found that playing is lots of fun. Mr. Nice plays a lot with me when he gets home from work and I look forward to it every night. However, playing by myself is fun, too. They've bought these tiny balls I like to play with. Mrs. Nice says I look like someone playing soccer when I play with those. Ribbons are also fun to play with. Mrs. Nice got them in all different colors for me.


I hope you've enjoyed my little story, even though not much has happened. Next week's story should be more exciting. I will tell you how I am working my way into the bedroom. :-)

Week #7 - A cat's worst nightmare

This week was pretty much uneventful for me. I have had to stay indoors a lot due to the weather. I tried to behave to make up for the behavior from week #6, so Mr. & Mrs. Nice would not be upset anymore.

Today - Sunday - was the day any cat in a new home fears. A dog arrived. Not just any dog, a HUGE dog! Have a look. Didn't I have a reason to worry?
His name is Brian, a Weimaraner hunting dog. You tell me - why does he have to come to my house? I live here now.

At first I was scared, so Mr. Nice picked me up.

This must've been punishment for everything I have done last week. Mrs. Nice seemed to know the dog very well. She even touched the dog and the dog LIKED her, too. Hey, dog, that's my Mrs. Nice, not yours. I knew the lady because she came to visit when I first arrived here. Who would think that a nice lady like this would have a HUGE dog like Brian? The question should really be - why??? I thought she liked cats.

You better believe it that I stayed very close and nearby to watch every step they did. I do that anyhow when someone comes into my garden or talks to Mr. & Mrs. Nice. You do understand that, don't know? What kind of cat would I be if I wasn't keeping track of the visitors to our house and garden.
This dog had the nerves to want to play with me. Now why in the world does a dog want to play with a cat? I was NOT interested at all. As a matter of fact, I found a spot between the pots and figured he'd leave me alone. But you know dogs - they have tunnel vision. He was not giving up on that idea.
Here I am hiding next to the blue pot and the little table and HE kept looking for me. (Click on the picture and you'll get a better glimpse of me. Can't miss the dog, I reckon.)

Ok.. well I let him have a look at me, but he better watch out for Stella-The-Cat. I hissed at him to let him know that I did NOT like him and did NOT want to be bothered at all.

Then the lady wanted to have a walk through my garden to look at all the flowers Mrs. Nice planted for me to enjoy. I walked right behind them. When the dog saw me, he charged at me and I took of running to the front of the house. Mrs. Nice told me later he wanted to play. I simply don't care. I do not like dogs.

I was so relieved when they decided to leave. Of course, I made sure to follow them to the front of the house and to see the dog getting into the car.

After they were gone I walked right back into my house and rolled all over the floor everywhere this dog has been laying down to get rid of his scent.

I made sure Mr. & Mrs. Nice KNEW that I did not like it and I gave them some of "my medicine" which is a "cold shoulder". They hate it when I ignore them.

That was my Sunday story for this week and I hope this does NOT happen again.

Week #6 - Time to confess

It is soooo difficult to admit when you are wrong, but there is no way around it. I just cannot see Mrs. Nice upset and Mr. Nice getting stricter.

Ok... here we go. I confess:

• During week #6 I was not the perfect cat you expect me to be.
• I stayed out longer than you like.
• I irritated you daily in the evening when you thought I was past the point of bugging you to let me out of the house.
• I slipped into the neighbor's basement and visited their house. Mrs. Nice said -when she heard this- I better be careful because their cat Paganina will fight me when she catches me in her territory. Talk about someone being upset!!!
  
• I got caught in our neighbor's son's bed and thrown out of the house. I have overheard my can openers telling the neighbors to be really mean and throw me out of the house when they catch me again AND to make it very uncomfortable for me. I have noticed already that they are letting down the shades now. As you can imagine, Mrs. Nice was REALLY not happy anymore. Mr. Nice just had his usual grin like nothing could surprise him.
  
• I have been making a more permanent bed in the next door neighbor's guest room. They could tell where I have been laying down resting. That REALLY brought the pot to a boil. Now I have to be careful around the Mrs.
  

Mr. and Mrs. Nice seem to have informants everywhere. I really need to slow down because I wouldn't want to push my luck.

Look at me - who could resist. Pure innocence! I am sleeping. I decided on my own it is better to be indoors when it is raining.


Happy now?? So I am not perfect. I am a cat. Stella-The-Cat

Week 4 and 5 - Stella on Tour

These past two weeks have been incredibly busy. I was out and about checking out our neighborhood on my own. It was GREAT! Of course, I made sure to come back so Mrs. Nice would not worry too much.

Mr. and Mrs. have taken off some of the "things" around my neck that you saw in the previous post so I would not get caught in shrubs. The bell was taken off first and the registration tag. However, they decided to leave my little tube with the address inside on my collar.

First time with no leash

Here I am running out the door.

Leaving the terrace

In the backyard - no leash!

Checking out the neighbors. I decided to walk with Mr. & Mrs. Nice. It was a little scary.

The very first time around the block they walked with me and I was glad they did. We have people running loud saws and I didn't want to walk any further. Mr. Nice carried me past the saws. Then we have a big black dog that hates cats. He barked so loud and Mr. Nice picked me up again. Our neighbors right behind us have a male cat. When he saw MY Mrs. Nice and she talked to him he climbed across the fence to talk back at her. When he saw me he sat right across from me and looked at me straight into my eyes. Then he made noises which really scared me. He looked really handsome, though. Mr. Nice carried me the rest of the way, so I would not have to be scared anymore.

I decided to try by myself again the next day. It was enough excitement for one day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My first excursions all by myself took a little longer and on the very first day Mrs. Nice painted the hallway so she had a way to pass time she said while I was running around. It took exactly 3.5 hrs for me to come home. She must've set the stop watch. Now I know how her sons feel when they stay out too long.

I think she tricks me into coming home. There is just enough food in the bowl now that I have to keep coming home to eat. What do you think?

At night I am not allowed to go outdoors at all. When I scratch on the windows they fuss with me. They really don't like that. I run upstairs then and sleep. Then they can fuss all they want, but I don't hear them.

Have I told you that I've got a new favorite place - the bathroom mat? Hey, if they all sleep on the first floor, why should I sleep in the living room? It is another one of my perfect arrangements to keep "things" in this household under control. When they get up I can watch what they are doing. When Mr. Nice gets up, I make sure he does not forget to feed and brush me. When the Mrs. makes the beds I am right there sitting by the bedroom window. Then we go downstairs, she fixes my food, puts my collar on and I am allowed to leave. When they take my collar off, I have to stay indoors. That's easy to understand, isn't it? They have all kind of smart ideas, but they are starting to make sense.

Week 5 I had to be alone in the house for a few days during the day because Mrs. Nice was in the hospital. I watched her pack her suitcase wondering what was happening and could tell she was sad and I didn't leave her alone much on this day. Now she's come back home and I am happy I've got all my family together again. I can come and go as I please during the day and don't have to wait for Mr. Nice until the evening.

Here's another nice picture of me. Mrs. Nice says, I am the perfect garden decoration, don't you agree?

I know how to walk on the fence now. Check me out! Here is a collection of snapshots. Click to enlarge the image.


More next time. I hope you enjoyed my little summary.

I am getting ready .....

.... to hit the road, Jack, but I am coming back.

Look at what Mrs. Nice got for me! A red collar. My registration number** is attached to it and an annoying bell. Right now I am wondering how I am supposed to catch any birds with a bell around my neck. We'll see if I will keep wearing it.

When Mr. Nice comes home I get to go out by myself - BY MYSELF!!

What do think of me wearing a red shiny safety collar? Be honest. I posed especially nice
** I have a chip implanted behind my ear. If I get lost or hurt, the chip can be read. Mrs. & Mrs. Nice registered me with TASSO. They do all kinds of stuff for animals.

The other side of the fence and other things - Week #2

During the second week I have been getting used to the routine here.

I wonder why they won't take down the balloons at the entry way door, the terrace door in the livingroom and their bedroom? Don't they trust me? It must be the yearning I have in my eyes when I sit on my scratch post or when I stand up against the window looking outside. As much as I have thought about it, there seems to be no way around these balloons.

I like to follow them around the house. THEY get to go outdoors anytime they want, but THEY don't allow ME to go outdoors every time with them.

In this house livingroom, diningroom and kitchen are connected. Between the livingroom and the kitchen there is a sliding door. From the kitchen and livingroom the hallway can be entered. Guess what they did? Mr. & Mrs. Nice put the door handles upright!! Don't they know that I cannot open the doors like that? One would think they'd have given this much better consideration and thought about my needs!! When Mr. Nice mows the lawn and Mrs. Nice works in her flower beds, they trick me. Quickly they lure me into the entry way and they shut these two doors. Then I have to stand against the doors, make the most miserable sounds, waiting for their pity ... but to no avail. I am not allowed back in until the yard work has been completed and I can go outdoors on a leash with them. That's not fair, Mr. & Mrs. Nice! You better believe me, I will remember when they use the trick on me next time. I am wondering this may have something to do with my first Saturday here when Mr. Nice had to climb through the kitchen window?

Mrs. Nice noticed I was loosing some hair on my right ear. It worried her. She is always worried about me, my (now) beautiful shiny coat, that I drink enough, and eat enough. Something else that she cares very much about is cleanliness. My scratch post is being vacuumed every other day. She says, even though I don't shed as badly as her old shorthair cat Streaks, she does not want my hair everywhere. When she vacuums I watch from a distance. As strong as this vacuum cleaner is, I am surprised it does not suck the carpet up as well. When she is done, I get right back up on my scratch post. As you see, I have my personal maid as well. That's a life of luxury. They didn't do this in the animal shelter.

Mr. Nice always told me during the first week, that he doesn't care to walk along the fence in the yard all the time. He likes to sit in one spot and cuddle. Doesn't he know that I am curious about what's past this fence? Who cares what he likes? My needs are important!

Mrs. Nice started taking me past the fence on the leash. Now I know what the front of my house looks like. It is very sunny there in the evening. Mrs. Nice and I sit there on a pretty bench. She gives me enough leash so I can go across the street to the other neighbor's fence. I smelled another cat there, too. There is a nice lady with a husband and another set of twins living there. They came out to welcome me to the neighborhood and warned me about some of the mean cats around here. There is Tommy, another cat in the neighborhood, who watched me during my first outing on the other side of the fence. Mrs. Nice tried to make him leave, but he kept following from a distance. I've got to watch out for this fellow. We even walked to the creek which was neat. I wonder what comes after the creek?

Here is where we sit when we go out front.

When I get tired of being on the other side of the fence, I walk back into the garden with Mrs. Nice. It is usually time for me to eat something and get some rest.

This is the view I get. Now tell me, would you run away from here?


This all I have to tell you about my second week in my new home.

My First Visit Outdoors - Day #2

On Monday, May 21st, I must have made a face sad enough to soften Mr. & Mrs. Nice's heart. I was sitting at the window, looking out, looking at them, walking to them, going back to the window numerous times. Hey, it worked! Mr. Nice said, he would take me outdoors! World, here I come!

Well, it was not "World, here I come". It was "World, here I come, as far as this leash he puts on will let me." It is better than nothing, right? You have got to see this garden. Lots of green grass, beautiful roses and other flowers and a Swedish garden house. Can you imagine how it feels to sit inside on your scratching post and to be exposed to a view like that, only guessing how it could feel to be out there? No, you probably can't since you get to go outdoors all the time, but TODAY I GET TO GO OUTSIDE WITH MR & MRS. NICE!

Mr. Nice put my little harness on and this expandable leash. I will forgive him for this one since the leash is for dogs, but he means well. They take a lot of pictures of me of everything I do. Sometimes it bores me, but it makes them happy.

Here I am leisurely enjoying the grass.

There are more pictures of me outside. I think I will show them to you. The leash really isn't too bad. At least I get to go outdoors. They tell me I will have to wear it on all my outdoor visits until I know where I belong now. When I do I get to go outdoors by myself. Mrs. Nice said I will have a curfew and not allowed outdoors at night when they are in the house. They are trying to train me to be a 75% house cat. We'll see how that will work. I am sure I can change that. Just got to work on my training. :-) Mr. Nice doesn't want to be recognized, but I had to show you this picture. He allowed me to sit on his shoulders. Anything that makes Stella-The-Cat and Mr.&Mrs. Nice happy.

Here is another one of me just loving the peace and quiet. You will only enjoy this kind of life if you have been inside an animal shelter for a while. I know what I am talking about. Mrs. Nice keeps saying she would hate for me to run away from their house and that she already loves me so much. Running away will be one idea I won't even give any consideration.

This is the end of the story of how I got Mr. & Mrs. Nice to take me outdoors.

Putting their mind at ease

More Day One ....

Of course I wanted to know where my toilet would be located. After all I am a clean cat! You wouldn't believe Mr. & Mrs. Nice, though.

I was given a walk through my new accomodations. Guess, where they took me first? You guessed it, my bathroom. It is located in the basement where the washer and dryer are. Off it went to the two other rooms in the basement where Mr. Nice keeps his tools and another huge room they call "The Hobby Room", whatever that is. Looks more like the place where they keep everything they don't really want upstairs.

On the first floor I already knew where the living- and diningroom, kitchen and guest bathroom ("Off limits" to me I overheard them say) were located. I dine in the kitchen near the refrigerator out of three brandnew bowls. One for water, one for dry food and one for canned food. As you can see, I am not lacking anything. I've overheard them talking that they have bought different dry and canned foods in case I was a picky eater. "People! I've lived in an animal shelter! You eat what you get there or you will go hungry!" Well, I won't spoil it for them since they have so much fun spoiling me, Stella-The-Cat.

Now you tell me, can life get any better than that? Three bowls, my choice of food and grass!! This is like eating in a restaurant.

Then we went to the second floor where three bedrooms and the master bathroom are located. Not bad, I thought. I guess I'll stick around for a while. Wonder if they will let me sleep in their bedroom sometimes. Oops, just heard Mrs. Nice say, that sleeping in the bedroom is a "no no". Oh well, someone else sleeps in this house. His room is on this floor, too. I can work on him when I meet him. Then there is the third bedroom which is used for a guestroom. Mrs. Nice said, I can go in there, but not sleep. I guess she is afraid I will claim it for myself and not let any visitors sleep in there. We'll see about that. :-)

The third floor has a huge bedroom that they are working on at the moment and another room where Mrs. Nice has all her painting and craft materials.

In conclusion, I must say, I am going to like it here very much and I am glad I got out of this raggedy joint at the animal shelter.

Do you remember my previous post where I told you about my fuzzy coat? Well, I am looking pretty good now. I have got this neat little brush and comb all to myself and it sure is nice having someone helping me with this long hair. I love being brushed and combed.

This is my new life. Now I have got the difficult task ahead of me of training Mr. & Mrs. Nice.

Oh, before I forget it. They took me about five more times to my bathroom in the basement. Like I am stupid or something! Well, to make life easier I used it and they could rest easily that night.

Ready or not - here I am

Day One Continued ....

I had to go on a scary ride in the car. Who knows where they were going to take me? During the ride Mr. & Mrs. Nice were talking in the car about their plans for me, i.e. like not being allowed outdoors for the first few weeks without leash. I started to wonder if I really picked the right couple. The ride did not take too long and we arrived at my new home. Since I had to sit in the carrier I couldn't see my new house when we got out the car.

I heard the door open and being locked with a key. Riiiiight, they remembered - I OPEN DOORS! Pretty smart Mr. & Mrs. Nice! They must have the memory of elephants.

In the livingroom my carrier was opened where I peaked outside. "Looks pretty nice", I thought and got out. Then I looked for the new stuff - toys, scratching post and sleeping basket WITH a soft pillow. They must know about cats. But why on earth is the scratching post next to a couch and not near the window? THAT has to change. I've got to take it nice and slow though. First I must make an impression on them.

Here I am looking around my new place.

Not bad, tiled floor. Don't mind my fuzzy coat please. They didn't brush me very often at the shelter. You can't be too picky at a place like that. I am going to change this at this house. This place is like an oasis! I must have picked the right couple.

Check out the basket! Pretty neat, isn't it?

Hey, this is a house with a view! A garden!


Well, Mr. Nice came to me begging, "Stella, the scratch post was quite expensive, why don't you use it?" I wanted to say, "Dummy, there is no view where you've placed it now." But Mrs. Nice said, "The cat doesn't care what you paid for the thing. Move it to the window." "Pretty smart Mrs. Nice! I think I am going to like you!"

So, here I am on my expensive scratch post. Satisfied, Mr. Nice?


After all this excitement it was time for a nap. I will tell you more soon.