The cats have learned to live under the same roof with each other pretty quickly. From the accounts I was hearing I believe we were pretty lucky in this respect. Other owners have had to keep their cats in separate rooms for weeks, getting them used to each other very slowly.
Over the past month two extreme behaviours have been displayed: tender loving grooming, and wild play fighting. They seem to exhibit more of the latter than the former. Enjoy:
It’s funny how the camera loses focus of Pebble because of this dark colour and lack of sharp edges. He’s a fuzzy blur. A stealth cat.
Yesterday evening we picked up our second feline dependent. It is just under two months old, and if the first night is any indication we will not be getting much sleep in the days to come. After the naming ceremony (it’s Pebble), we settled him in the bathroom, but between him whining to come out, and the resident cat meowing to get to him, we couldn’t string together a whole two hours of sleep.
Today after work we decided to let them mingle, and the above video is the result. One of them anyway.
Warning: for the foreseeable future this blog will have a higher cat content.
One would think that by now, the cat, Paua, would have settled in. Yet she surprises us with wildly shifting behaviours in a very short time.
From hovering at the brink of sleep at the foot of our bed one moment, to meowing mournfully, nose touching the front door, the next. Shortly thereafter playfully tossing around a tatter of cloth or bag, followed by a heightened sense of fear of everything that moves. That would be us. She’d dash from one room to the next, climbing on the furniture and fittings, or cower in a corner, back arched, tail huge. As if nothing was amiss, she would then drop on the floor belly up, inviting attention. All the above in the space of a few minutes, but of all the activities, the meowing would last the longest. I fear for her mental health.
Rather than apologising for the lengthy gap between posts, and scrambling to fill in, it was decided among fellow bloggers that it is better to just plough on as if nothing happened. Flashbacks might appear later on, Tarantino style. So here goes.
We finally settled into our new apartment, which is both larger (double the size) and cheaper than the previous one. The pros of the sliding property market, much appreciated. Actually it’s ridiculously cheap by today’s market prices, and I queried the rental agent about it – after signing the contract. The only justification I can think of is that they (you know, Them) know the prices will fall further this year so they wanted a quick sale now. Works for me since I couldn’t wait.
We had to deal with some minor maintenance issues, which I wouldn’t expect from a brand new building. But you can’t have it all I guess. The cat seems to be having a hard time adjusting. First the fine layer of dust was bothering her. After the place was scrubbed clean and we moved in, the exploration began: every corner, box, cupboard, table, etc had to be inspected, sniffed, jumped into / upon and meowed at. After having finally quieted down at our old apartment, she seems to have the volume cranked back up, voicing her displeasure at being relocated forcibly. Once she woke us up, dead in the middle of the night, with a sharp quasi-bark that bounced against the still empty room and startled us into consciousness. Hopefully she will find her peace with the flat. Otherwise she’ll have to make peace with the cats outside.
On a completely separate note, this is the first time I’m posting from the handheld rather than directly online. I’ve no idea how it will look. Apologies in advance until it gets fixed. Which would be when I find the time at work, since internet is still not connected at home.
Last weekend we headed out to Barasti again and returned with a snap-glow wrist band for my wife and a neck ache for myself. We were very tired after a long day and made a beeline for the bed. Shortly after lights-out though we hear a loud gagging noise – the cat had torn open the snap-glow wrist band and must have drunk some of the liquid inside.
Before going any further i would like to point out two things: 1) we are not the euphorial raving types who dance by the speakers glowing in the dark. The sticks were being given to everyone and we just did not refuse it. 2) it was by this time 3.30 a.m.
Back to the cat. She started foaming at the mouth and eyes were tearing. Being completely ignorant of what to do and afraid for the poor creature’s life, I called the vet hospital. The lady on the phone was very helpful, but couldn’t advise me to do anything except (of course) bring her in for checking. Also before hanging up she politely explained that there was a vet emergency call out fee of Dhs 700 (around €120). Fine.
The hospital was difficult to find, and we had to call again to ask for directions. Also the last stretch was completely off-road stuff, a bumpy track that would have made a 4×4 dance around. I had to crawl at a snail’s pace. We got there eventually and the Italian vet suggested we leave her there for blood tests and observation. Later during the day I received a call, she was put on a drip as was not eating much and will be kept overnight. By the following morning she had started eating again (and passing the food, nicely put) so she could be picked up. Further off-roading. At least I was rewarded with a pretty unusual sight for Dubai.
The only road I know of in Dubai with this dense green-age
Today had to go back for a follow up blood test after 3 days. Levels were improving, she was on the mend. Getting there I had a bit of an incident. The vet was still closed as I had to go a bit early, and while I was waiting outside the car the cat managed to free herself from the carrier and decided to take a better view of her surroundings.
Houdini would have been proud
Actually the carrier is of the canvas zip-up type, not the plastic cage type, and the cat managed to work the zip from the inside by wriggling forcefully against it. So we need to upgrade.
