Another farewell, all too soon

It seems like just yesterday that Phred came into our lives and just as quickly he is gone. Apparently, he lost an argument with a car over the rainy, dreary weekend.

This is how I will always remember him, in his favorite resting spot--just beneath my chin.

Rest in peace, my friend.

Let me in!!

We would hear this awful scraping. Turned out he was scratching the window trying to get our attention to let him in.

Phred update

As you know, Phred is a very laid-back cat. He doesn't demand any special food--just a bit of milk, occasionally. Other than that, he's content with his dry cat food. 

That is, until I leave something on top of the stove and his curiosity gets the best of him. 

The other day, I had cooked a pot of pinto beans with a big pork bone. The beans were done and I turned the pot off to let them cool down.

I then proceeded to go about my business, never giving the pot another thought because there was never a reason to worry. Until I heard a dull thud in the kitchen.

Good ol' Phred had quietly crept around on top of the counter (unlike Bubba) and pulled the pork bone out of the pan and onto the floor!

I was so shocked and amazed that he got such a big bone out of the pot to begin with that I just threw it out on the patio where he could munch away at his own pace! There wasn't much else to do with it. Or him.

The birdhouse

A couple of years back, Missy made a really cool birdhouse in one of her school classes. We couldn't really find a good place for it at our old house, but when we moved here, Hubby sat it up on the privacy screen on the back patio, next to the house. 

I could see it from the front room lounge and it seemed like the perfect place. I watched birds check it out, getting closer and closer and finally dashing inside before hopping back out. I was excited about being so close to the nest and was looking forward to taking pictures of the goings on.

Bubba had brought us some 'gifts' of dead birds on occasion, but I don't think he even knew the birdhouse was there.

Phred, on the other hand, is a different story. When I heard him and his 'ginger' friend tromping across the roof of the house, I didn't think much about it. 

Then I saw this.

So much for watching the birds up close.

Phred the Ginga Ninja

Phred has settled into our lives very nicely. Of course, it is he that owns us, as cats do. He is very content to pretend to be the great ginger hunter while he waits for me to hang clothes.

He seems to have a ginger and white nemesis that lives across the fence. I'm not sure what they think they are doing, but I will hear a blood-curdling howl occasionally when the 'other' cat ventures too close to the patio. Phred actually tried to attack him through the glass door once, but that didn't work out very well, as you can imagine!

It's a strange relationship they have.  When we first moved into this house, we though 'the ginger' (as we call him) used to live at our house because he would sit outside the front and back doors and just peer into the windows. Twice, he actually came into the house like he owned it!

At the end of the day, we all know who's boss. 

Phred Rules!

I believe our new addition has discovered that he rules the house. 

He has also learned that he prefers inside to out. His latest hour out in the rain came after he (accidentally, I'm sure) jumped out a window that didn't have a bench beneath it. Since then, I can carry him out on the patio and he's instantly finding the door to bound back inside asap!

I think he has learned to make himself comfy!

Good news!

Phred found his way home!

He's acting as if he were shut in someone's shed for the last 48 hours, but he had no trouble making up for the food he missed!

He simply showed up, crying, at the back door about 9:15pm.

Hurray for answered prayers!

Hrumph

I don't know what's going on, but I think our house doesn't like cats.

Tuesday was the first time Phred went outside. After his first three days inside, he just sniffed around the house--literally, around the outside of the house--and came back in. That made us all happy that he was happy being an indoors cat.

On Saturday night, during a break in our 4 days of constant rain, he meandered outside. We expected him to stay around like he did before. We were wrong. We haven't seen him in over 24 hours now.

I will keep you posted.

Hrumph

The last chapter of Patheticat

As many of you know, Bubba, aka Patheticat, has a penchant for disappearing. And then reappearing at our old house. The kind lady next door would call and let us know he was there.

Well, he did it again. He was missing for over 3 weeks and we figured where he was but didn't know what to do to keep him here if we brought him back. So we sadly decided to leave him be and if he wanted to come back to this house, he'd be smart enough to do that. 

And, sure enough, the kind neighbor lady called. He was there. She had him in her garage. We decided to make a half-hearted attempt--just in case he really did want to come home--so Missy and I went to collect him. Surprisingly enough, and completely differently from the other times, he had been eating well and didn't look sad and bony. I guess he has this 'roaming' thing figured out!

So, we did the honorable thing and asked the new tenants of our old house if they would adopt him and they said 'yes'. And another chapter of our life closes.

And, as one door closes, another opens. Hubby and Missy saw a small ad at the grocery store for a ginger cat who needs a home...

Meet Phred the Ginger Ninja. I'm not sure he even knows he has a name yet, but he is our new addition. To our relief, he is much more tolerant of people than Bubba was and the kids get to handle him all they want.