Shad

Cats in the house. They’re super skittish… and I’m not really sure how to let them know that they’re wecome here.

Hmmm.

I tried Tuna… I really thought that would cement me as a decent guy. I tried the cat toys. I was able to get one of them to come out an play a little, but he still runs everytime I make any attempt to even move in his general direction. The other one has yet to really make any attempt to venture out from behind the sofa. I’m starting to think that it really isn’t a cat at all, but more of a furry squishy rock. Hmmmm….

So anyone out there have this happen to them? Are cats really this skittsh when they get moved to a new environment? Will they get past this? Or are they just going to live behind the couch for ever? Sneaking out at night to scavenge for food. Bolting back to the safety of thier couchy home at the slightest noise.

This would make me very sad.

Now for the funny story. When they got here last night, within a couple of hours they somehow managed to get into the broiler of the stove (there was a hole in the back). Now, at first I didn’t really think this was a super bad thing. I mean, cats get into and out of some odd places, so what’s the big deal… right?

Well it turns out that down in the broiler is where (you ready for this?) the pilot light is! And I don’t know if you knew this, but fur… yeah… um… it burns. All I can think about is… well… let’s not even go there.

So, of course, I blew out the pilot light. So now, at least the cats wouldn’t catch fire. And that’s good, cause I gotta tell ya, I’ll place odds that that would NOT smell good.

I then realized that the stove now filling with gas was probably not much better. Now I’m no veterenarian, but I’m pretty sure kittens can’t breath propane. I think I read that somewhere…

Cats for Morons – Chapter 12 – Cat Maintenance
Do not, repeat, do not think that cats can breath propain. This is a common misconception among new cat owners. Attempting to place your cat in a propane filled closed space will not be in the best interests of the animal…

See.

So I pulled the stove away from the wall to turn off the gas. And in the process of stretching to reach the shutoff valve, I pulled my back out. Ouch. At least I got the gas turned off though so at least the cats were safe. Unfortunately, it cost mea a number quality minutes spread out on the kitchen floor. Fortunately, Katie and Mark were around. Otherwise, I would’ve had no one to laugh at my predicament.

Anyway, the back is better (thanks Mom for listening to me whine at 1:30am) and the cats are safe. I’m hoping they’ll just need some time to adjust. Hmmmm….