Not Cat’s pink nose nearly made me call him Rudolph, and as of today he has another yuletide dimension; bells. Plural. Up until yesterday he had one bell. I bought some more thinking to attach them to his collar to warn the birds. But he has become a two-bell cat for his own safety, not that of the birds.
The warm weather we were having (note, were, it’s arctic out there tonight) has meant more open windows and proof that Not Cat has a fine disregard for trespassing laws.
My ground floor neighbour found him in her, fortunately empty, bath yesterday morning. he knew he shouldn’t be there and scrambled back out of the window as soon as she walked in, although normally he’s very friendly to her. So friendly that she is going to be the person designated to look after him should anything ghastly happen to me.
Admittedly I laughed when she told me, but it’s not really funny. He could get shut in somewhere and starve to death; he could meet some nasty people who would have every right to be annoyed with him.
So the extra bell is to alert people that he is about. My neighbour didn’t hear him climb through her window. If he is scared and hides, he could so easily be locked in without means of escape.
I can’t exactly demand that all my neighbours keep their windows shut, so I have to hope for the best, he’s not going to be an indoor cat. He’s outside right now in the rain because he wants to be.
But it makes me anxious, so if anyone has any bright ideas, please share! I’d prefer Curiosity Killed the Cat to remain the name of a band featuring a bunch of public schoolboys, and an aphorism, not a fact applied to Not Cat.
Isobel (and Cat)'s Blog 
I have a ginger cat, though he is scared of bathrooms.
Cats are very resourceful, I would not worry too much, my cat can open doors.
OMG, open doors? Proper ones? Not just the wardrobe? I hope Not Cat never manages that. 🙂
Not Cat looks energetic … Not! He looks like he just ate a mouse and is enjoying his after dinner nap. LOL. Good luck keeping tabs on him, it is curiosity that gets those kitty critters in trouble you know.
Absolutely. He is a very energetic, curious cat, and is on the go most of the time. that’s why I enjoy getting pix of him sleeping!
He looks so adorable sleeping……extra bells sound like a good idea so people know that boy’s about!!
Pam
That is *such* a sweet pic of him, Isobel. You can see how soft that fur is. He really is such a pin-up cat. I do hope you make the best shots into a calendar. Sorry, have no idea how to curb his advenurous streak but the two bells are a good idea.
I tried that with Leo for a bit but after getting through four collars in two weeks, I gave up. He seems to have the knack of undoing them
I made calendars fro two of my aunts featuring six months of Cat and six of Not Cat for 2012, and have already promised twelve months of Not Cat for 2013. But your comment has made me think it would be a good idea to start assembling possible pix in a folder now.
he is jingling away! I have spare collars and spare bells.he hasn’t lost a collar for a while.
Good! It’s just that your pics are so good, seems a shame not to. I use Photobox.
i used Vistaprint which I likened to the Ryanair of photo services, but the results were good. I also got some cotton bags printed with pix. But I normally use Photobox for cards. Next time they will probably get my calendar custom too. I was seduced by Vistaprint’s special offers…
Did you do calendars of your two?
I haven’t yet, no. I’m lacking pics of sufficient quality. But I made a calendar of my springer Gemma after she died and two A3 calendars of Roly pics.
my aunts were both really pleased with the calendars. It is a nice thing to do isn’t it. Must get off to my bath and bed.
Night!
What a lovely cat! I used to try to keep cats indoors, and it always ended in neurotic cats. I have found that cats are very good at getting themselves out of scrapes, and opening doors…I wouldn’t worry. The bells are a great idea.
He’s probably just catmapping 🙂 once he’s thoroughly sussed his surroundings he will realise that his own house and garden are the best place and settle down!
Extra bell sounds good to me. Hard to keep them in and worrisome when they are out. I think you are doing what you can Isobel to make him safe.
Sounds like you’ve done all you can and will have to rely on his sixth sense, nine lives and and nice neighbors.
Love him sitting in the bathtub. I once had a cat who could open the fridge (but never had dinner ready when I came home).
Honestly. They just don’t try, do they. Something must have spooked him this morning. He can’t quite bring himself to go out this afternoon, yet it has been dry and bright, though rather windy. Lots of stair games and playing in the orange cube. I am off to my third acupuncture session in a minute.
Thinking of you!
Would you Adam and Eve it, he’s just come in and the second bell is no longer on his collar. How on earth did that happen?
No ideas to offer. I share your worries, though.
And, precious cat and picture!