So, here we are at the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory, having been ably shifted by the efficient and good-natured crew from J. Goodwin Enterprises, who exclaimed over and over again about what a pretty house and yellow! Yellow looked so nice, and bright (does no one have yellow rooms in Maine?) The crew having got us out of the old digs and into the new in record time, we were in good time to pick the cats up from their day at the spa.
We got all four carriers into the living room at the same time, and opened the gates so that the cats could emerge together and commence exploring their exciting! new! environs!
Belle and Sprite immediately dove under the sofa. Trooper made a run for the cellar door, which is in approximately the same location in this house as the last. Scrabble. . .Scrabble glanced about her, muttered something and proceeded to take the Grand Tour — over and over again, as if memorizing the Location of Everything (which is going to keep her busy for a while, as the Location of Everything is in a state so fluid it puts fluids to the blush).
A little later in the evening, Belle joined Scrabble in her walking about (this house is in the shape of a lopsided U, with Steve’s office at the upper end of the tall arm, and my office at the upper end of the shorter arm, so there’s plenty of hallway to cover, not to mention the rooms themselves).
Later in the evening, as we were sharing our first glass of wine in the New Cat Farm and Confusion Factory, Princess Jasmine Sprite joined us and mounted the Cat Castle, from whence she frowningly surveyed her new domain.
Trooper did not join us. A short trip down to the basement discovered him under the stair, which didn’t seem alarming, so we left him to it, and retired.
He and Belle both joined us in bed sometime during the night, and Scrabble checked in a couple times. Sprite was not in evidence. This morning, we found out why.
Short form is that she had found an ingress from the Goblin Kingdom in! our! basement! Behind! the! chimney! And! the! water! heater! And. . .AND?
She’d gotten stuck.
Steve and I (by which I of course mean Steve) took down a plywood wall in the new house today instead of unpacking, and then we gave the valiant princess a bath to get (some) of the ashes out of her fur. She is now resting in what has become known as The Boy’s Bathroom, and we hope she’ll be feeling more the thing tomorrow.
In the meantime, we placed a call to our former neighbor, a contractor, and he will be walling off the road to the Goblin Kingdom, and also the chimney and the water heater. A paw-proof door will be involved.
Promoting home improvements already. What workers these cats are!
I hope that you and Steve get settled soon. All unpacked and such. The cats, of course, will be settled in their own good time.
Congrats on a successful move!
Poor Sprite! Sending sympathy to you all.
When we moved to this house, the fireplace was dirty and had no firescreen. So we piled book boxes in front of it, pushed as close to the bricks as possible. Came home the 2nd-3rd day to find a calico-and-grey cat meeting us at the door. Our Chanel, a long-haired calico-and-WHITE cat, had discovered a Way In. It took at least 3 baths to get the soot out of her fur. She was Not Amused. We changed to a sheet of plywood, held in place by the book boxes, until we could find a firescreen we could anchor so as to keep her out.
Moving already? I guess it is the end of April. Congratulations on sounding sane and comfortable. Is it yellow outside, too?
Oh, my. When I was young, my father once had to rip out a chunk of the attic floor and tear up my nice new wicker Easter purse to use as a carrier for rescuing MomCat and kittens, who had slipped down into the space between the chimney and the wall. But we’d been in the house for years. I wonder if Sprite has set a record for cat-sponsored renovations?
Glad your move went so well!
Your cats are amazing and so humorous.
The Cats seem to have given new digs the OK. Enjoyed reading just how they managed that. Waiting on your next book offerings. Thanks for what you do.