Oscar's Grand Adventure

If grand-cat Oscar's big adventure was moving from our son's house to ours, then his grand adventure was last night.

Oscar is 11 years old and quite the athlete, at least as compared to his "uncle" Tuxedo who is almost 15 and needs help accessing the bed. Oscar makes a running leap and he's there. That said, Oscar is also a house cat and since he has been here has never tried to go outside. Very good.

But he likes the windows and when he turned up missing this morning, I recalled a similar incident with cat Pyewacket, who had pushed against a window screen until it bent, then he had tumbled out, down the metal porch roof and spent a scary night under my car.

Oscar does have a hidey-hole of some sort which I've not been able to find, so when he wasn't present last night as I went to bed and I'd done a cursory search, I thought he was being stubborn and was in it. But this morning, when his food had not been touched, I began a room by room search.

Last evening, we had installed a new dehumidifier in the basement. Tuxedo had had basement adventures before, but as Oscar has shown no interest in the basement, and Tux was asleep in the den, we might have been a bit lax about the door. So, since all the screens were intact, that was the logical place for him to be. Except I'd called to him last night there. And again this morning. And I'd used a flashlight to check out the dark corners of our pier and beam house. No Oscar.

A last ditch attempt, and crying like a fishwife, I went back into the basement. Suddenly there was a meow and out he popped! He'd been in the dark and without food or water for well over 12 hours. I can't say I felt sorry for him. I'd given him his chances and he could always have come to the door and squalled.

He knew I was miffed and for the next hour, he tried to make up to me, twining about my legs and following me around. I've forgiven him and I hope he's learned his lesson about dark places. In the meantime, if we're in the basement, the door will have to be closed.

A new member of the household

A few weeks ago we welcomed a new member to our household, our "grandcat" Oscar. Formerly of my older son's household, Oscar is a reclusive cat and after three moves, two children and a dog, he was an unhappy eleven-year-old kitty. No one, feline or human, should be that unhappy if there's an easy solution to the problem, and Oscar came home with us.

Not that every member of our household was happy with this. Our elder statesman cat Tuxedo cast a gimlet eye on the situation and has been hoping Oscar is going away, as he has before when we would keep him when he was a kitten. Alas, Tux is not to get his wish.

They haven't really reached kitty detente, but Oscar is adjusting. He's not as reclusive as he was. He likes to watch the birds on the windowsill and has his favorite sleeping spots picked out. I think they may be dividing the house, with the kitchen and my study as neutral territory, the downstairs belonging to Tux and the upstairs to Oscar.

We had other cats do this, Calico and her kitten Frisky. Frisky owned me, the living room, and the master bedroom. Calico took charge of the boys, their rooms, and the den. They really didn't cross into each other's realm.

Of course with Oscar, we started with separate food bowls and separate litter pans. Within a week, Oscar had shown a preference for Tux's dry food. They used each other's litter pans in what I'm sure was a show of "I'll show you!" and all it got them was one litter pan. I'd had enough of that nonsense.

Today, I poured some of the outdoor kitties' food into their bowl for a different taste treat and they chowed down together until Oscar took offense and swatted at Tux. Tux backed up and I picked Oscar up and moved him away from the bowl. Eat together amicably, or no one eats. The special treat is still awaiting whoever shows up first.

I'm glad Oscar is with us. He's added a bit of spice to our staid household and will keep Tux on his kitty toes.

An Oscar update

His Majesty Oscar snuck out of his bathtub lair one time too many and has now been captured and, I'm hoping, the hole covered up.

Just when you think a cat can no longer surprise you

Son Matt and his family moved into a new (to them) home today. In order to keep some semblance of peace, cats Oscar and Issy were sequestered in the children's bathroom.

Mary made it cozy for them with familiar items and their litter box in the bathtub. She put their bed in the bottom of the linen closet and closed the door.

Alas, the hole to service the bathtub faucets, small though it is, was left uncovered and Oscar, not the sharpest pencil in the box, decided to explore.

Before they knew what had happened, Oscar's plaintive moans were heard downstairs in the breakfast area, which is directly under the bathroom. What was he howling about?

How about being stuck in the inner area which surrounds a circa-1969 tub?

Panic ensued. Exactly where was he? Could he not get out? Would a hole have to be cut from the adjoining closet? How many days would it take before he started to smell? Would curiosity really kill the cat?

I suggested tempting the little rascal with canned tuna or chicken. None to be had in the just-moved pantry. All they had on hand was bacon and a dish of that, placed just outside the entrance, had no effect.

But Oscar has a weakness: popcorn. Fresh popped corn was laid down and a paw snuck out to snag a piece. Therefore, he could turn around and he could get out.

The sympathy level dropped to about 10% and hit rock bottom a couple hours later when his tail was spotted going back into its newest hidey-hole.

Oh, Oscar, I don't envy you when they finally catch you outside the tub!