Friday, October 22, 2004
Trial Run, Day 1
Packing commenced Thursday afternoon. Actually, packing SHOULD have commenced Thursday afternoon, but when I got home from work, I was tired and hungry, and chose to eat dinner instead, so I cooked up a little food, and watched Dr. Phil. Then I took the NoodleDog for a walk. Then I played with the cats. Then I realized what time it was (evening), and packed in a frenzy, shooing cats out of the way and tripping over the NoodleDog several times as he watched, confused as to why I kept throwing things around the room. My townhouse is two stories and a basement, and the laundry equipment is in the basement, but my room is on the upper floor.
Total trips to the basement: five (laundry in, laundry rinse, laundry in dryer, remembering I forgot to get the cat litter box and going back down to get it, laundry out of dryer).
Total trips upstairs: Twenty (going up to get the laundry, going back up to get the suitcase out, going back up from answering the cellphone that was conveniently located downstairs, going back up from putting laundry on rinse, going back up after putting laundry in dryer, going up to put in shoes, going back up to get backpack, going back up to get cat litter box after cleaning it thoroughly since all my cleaning supplies are upstairs, going back up to chase Caspar, going back up to chase Caspar again, going back up to chase Tobey, going back up to get packed suitcase, going back up to chase Tobey again, going back up to get bathroom stuff I forgot on the first round, going back up to get more bathroom stuff I forgot on the second round, going back up to get the hairdryer, going back up to see if Tobey will come out from under the bed yet, going back up to put the dry laundry away, going back up to check for errant cats, and going back up for a final look around).
There was also a good deal of running around on the main floor once cats were caged. I only have two cat carrying cases, and as soon as I got Caspar, I stuffed him into one, leaving the second one open on top to house Smudge and Tobey. I cage Caspar and Tobey because they hate the car. I cage Smudge because she is small and unpredictable and could probably cause a car crash pretty easily by fastening her tiny sharp claws anywhere on head. However, when I went to stuff Tobey in the second crate, Rumble had seen the action going on and had already jumped in, not wanting to be left behind in case we were going to Granny & The Grumpaw’s house (he likes their house a lot because it has a very large back yard). So I had to stuff Tobey in with Rumble as he would not exit the crate without a lot more work on my part (and I was already holding an increasingly anxious Tobey), and cram Smudge in with Caspar.
I prevailed, and then put the crates of cat into the car, and loaded the NoodleDog into the front seat. We were on our way!
After getting to Rob’s with a minimum of yowling, I forced my way past Cooter to get into the house to start unloading cats. Cooter was suitably distracted when I threw the NoodleDog in the yard to play with him. I managed to get everyone inside, and then watched as the cats tentatively made their way through the house, inspecting various things, mostly skittering if they heard any noises. But they all seemed to be alright. After I let them get acclimatized for a while, I let the dogs in to see what they would do. Cooter and I went downstairs to see who we could find, and Caspar turned up, rubbing his head under Cooter’s chin in a gesture of friendliness (he is, after all, the friendliest cat ever). Cooter was fairly well-behaved and did not chase anyone. The cats were fairly well-behaved in that they didn’t cause any big catastrophes. The NoodleDog was fairly well-behaved in that he got in and immediately looked for food.
When Rob got back from being out with his friend, we watched the cats for a while, and since it seemed like everyone was going to be alright, it was bedtime. There was one yowling incident overnight, and the evidence in the morning suggests a little story could be told:
Rumble is the Big Cat of the bunch. He’s a large cat anyway, and the first cat I got, so he’s a little spoiled and feels entitled to run the place as he sees fit. Rumble doesn’t scrap with the other cats at home much any more, mostly because they know he’ll win so they don’t bother. However, in a new environment, I could quite easily see that he’d want to assert his authority over the place and the occupants, and since there was a small amount of tension over everyone being thrown unceremoniously into a new house, a fight could have broken out over pretty much anything. Usually, Rumble beats up on Caspar. The several occasions this has happened since I got the NoodleDog have been interesting because as I yell at them to stop it, the NoodleDog takes it upon himself to police the action and put a quick stop to any skirmishes. After having fallen asleep for only a short while, we heard yowling, then dog skittering, then cats flailing everywhere. Both Rob and I thought it was Cooter, so we yelled “Cooter” repeatedly until I looked over my edge of the bed, and there was Cooter, looking back up at me. I suspect that Rumble had been asserting himself, probably beating up on Caspar, and the NoodleDog dutifully went to stop it. There were clumps of Rumble-fur in the kitchen in the morning. Part of what makes Rumble such an effective fighter is the fact that he has doubly-thick, long fur serving as a near-impenetrable armour. If a cat fights back and bites him or scratches, all they get is fur. Little clumps of black and white fur. Which is what we found in the morning when we got up.
So that was the first twelve hours. I left for work shortly after 7a this morning, and since they were all alright when I left, I expect to return and have them be the same way. I’m not sure about the other things in the house, however. We may have to do some cat-proofing. There will be shelves that Smudge can get onto, and Rumble has already taken to opening Rob’s kitchen cupboards on the lower area (he likes to sleep in the cupboards because he is the only one who can open them and thereby has a nice safe place to sleep). I’m very much looking forward to the weekend and being able to sleep knowing everyone I care that much for is all in the same place. It’s a very comforting feeling.
If we all survive the weekend, you’ll hear about it on Monday!
Total trips to the basement: five (laundry in, laundry rinse, laundry in dryer, remembering I forgot to get the cat litter box and going back down to get it, laundry out of dryer).
Total trips upstairs: Twenty (going up to get the laundry, going back up to get the suitcase out, going back up from answering the cellphone that was conveniently located downstairs, going back up from putting laundry on rinse, going back up after putting laundry in dryer, going up to put in shoes, going back up to get backpack, going back up to get cat litter box after cleaning it thoroughly since all my cleaning supplies are upstairs, going back up to chase Caspar, going back up to chase Caspar again, going back up to chase Tobey, going back up to get packed suitcase, going back up to chase Tobey again, going back up to get bathroom stuff I forgot on the first round, going back up to get more bathroom stuff I forgot on the second round, going back up to get the hairdryer, going back up to see if Tobey will come out from under the bed yet, going back up to put the dry laundry away, going back up to check for errant cats, and going back up for a final look around).
There was also a good deal of running around on the main floor once cats were caged. I only have two cat carrying cases, and as soon as I got Caspar, I stuffed him into one, leaving the second one open on top to house Smudge and Tobey. I cage Caspar and Tobey because they hate the car. I cage Smudge because she is small and unpredictable and could probably cause a car crash pretty easily by fastening her tiny sharp claws anywhere on head. However, when I went to stuff Tobey in the second crate, Rumble had seen the action going on and had already jumped in, not wanting to be left behind in case we were going to Granny & The Grumpaw’s house (he likes their house a lot because it has a very large back yard). So I had to stuff Tobey in with Rumble as he would not exit the crate without a lot more work on my part (and I was already holding an increasingly anxious Tobey), and cram Smudge in with Caspar.
I prevailed, and then put the crates of cat into the car, and loaded the NoodleDog into the front seat. We were on our way!
After getting to Rob’s with a minimum of yowling, I forced my way past Cooter to get into the house to start unloading cats. Cooter was suitably distracted when I threw the NoodleDog in the yard to play with him. I managed to get everyone inside, and then watched as the cats tentatively made their way through the house, inspecting various things, mostly skittering if they heard any noises. But they all seemed to be alright. After I let them get acclimatized for a while, I let the dogs in to see what they would do. Cooter and I went downstairs to see who we could find, and Caspar turned up, rubbing his head under Cooter’s chin in a gesture of friendliness (he is, after all, the friendliest cat ever). Cooter was fairly well-behaved and did not chase anyone. The cats were fairly well-behaved in that they didn’t cause any big catastrophes. The NoodleDog was fairly well-behaved in that he got in and immediately looked for food.
When Rob got back from being out with his friend, we watched the cats for a while, and since it seemed like everyone was going to be alright, it was bedtime. There was one yowling incident overnight, and the evidence in the morning suggests a little story could be told:
Rumble is the Big Cat of the bunch. He’s a large cat anyway, and the first cat I got, so he’s a little spoiled and feels entitled to run the place as he sees fit. Rumble doesn’t scrap with the other cats at home much any more, mostly because they know he’ll win so they don’t bother. However, in a new environment, I could quite easily see that he’d want to assert his authority over the place and the occupants, and since there was a small amount of tension over everyone being thrown unceremoniously into a new house, a fight could have broken out over pretty much anything. Usually, Rumble beats up on Caspar. The several occasions this has happened since I got the NoodleDog have been interesting because as I yell at them to stop it, the NoodleDog takes it upon himself to police the action and put a quick stop to any skirmishes. After having fallen asleep for only a short while, we heard yowling, then dog skittering, then cats flailing everywhere. Both Rob and I thought it was Cooter, so we yelled “Cooter” repeatedly until I looked over my edge of the bed, and there was Cooter, looking back up at me. I suspect that Rumble had been asserting himself, probably beating up on Caspar, and the NoodleDog dutifully went to stop it. There were clumps of Rumble-fur in the kitchen in the morning. Part of what makes Rumble such an effective fighter is the fact that he has doubly-thick, long fur serving as a near-impenetrable armour. If a cat fights back and bites him or scratches, all they get is fur. Little clumps of black and white fur. Which is what we found in the morning when we got up.
So that was the first twelve hours. I left for work shortly after 7a this morning, and since they were all alright when I left, I expect to return and have them be the same way. I’m not sure about the other things in the house, however. We may have to do some cat-proofing. There will be shelves that Smudge can get onto, and Rumble has already taken to opening Rob’s kitchen cupboards on the lower area (he likes to sleep in the cupboards because he is the only one who can open them and thereby has a nice safe place to sleep). I’m very much looking forward to the weekend and being able to sleep knowing everyone I care that much for is all in the same place. It’s a very comforting feeling.
If we all survive the weekend, you’ll hear about it on Monday!
