Chez Larsson

Is it Monday Already?

Sorry guys, I totally overslept today and because this vacation is confusing me. I forgot to prepare a post yesterday because I didn’t realize that today is Monday.

I blame the oversleeping on this little lady. She woke me up at 2.48 and 4.35 this morning wanting to go outside. I keep the kitty door closed at night because of Bonus (who was snoozing next to me) and I need to let her out so I get up a couple of times every night. Usually a beam of sun light wakes me up around 6.30 anyway but today it rains and I slept until 9.30! I don’t think I’ve slept for that long in years and sleeping for more than eight hours always gives me a slight headache and back ache so I try to avoid it.

So, on today’s to-do list I have:

* Paint balcony ceiling and tops of posts and trim.

* Paint second or third coats on balcony trim and outside of upstairs windows.

* Paint first coat on outside of kitchen and dining area windows.

Lots of painting. Hopefully I’ll be able to do it all even though it rains a little bit. Most of the areas I’m painting are covered and there’s no wind today. Yesterday it was so windy so the paint tray almost flew out of my hand several times.

The Wanderer

You guys are so sweet inquiring about Bonus via the comments. Here’s an update on what this little dude’s been up to.

After those initial two times when he ran away and we were worried sick and both times managed to get him back home safely via the new owners of our old house we kept him inside except for daily walks in the park on a leash for five weeks. After five weeks of him trying to claw himself out and hearing him meow CONSTANTLY (driving us MAD) we decided to let him out during the day again last Monday. We got him inside at around 7 pm and after 10 pm he was on his bed in the basement. That went really well for four days and nights until Friday when we had friends over and he decided not to come inside again before dusk and the morning after he was again nowhere to be found.

Wille has been in the old neighborhood every night and several times during the day too but this little guy hasn’t been interested in being found. We figured that if he kept to his regular schedule of getting hungry enough after three days we’d find him again on Monday but Monday came and went and so did Tuesday. Yesterday morning I got the awaited for phone call from one of our sweet former neighbors, Maud, who said that she’d seen Bonus in her next door neighbor’s yard and that he’d gone into our old garden. I jumped on my bike (AGAIN) and there he was!

I got him home and he was happily inside all day, sleeping, eating and playing with his catnip stinkie.

Wille and I have decided that during the warmer months we’ll accept that he’ll run away occasionally (or even on a regular basis) and that we won’t even bother too look for him day 1-3 because he doesn’t want to be found. It’s not like we don’t know where he is. When he’s home though we will stick to our schedule of letting him out during the day and keeping him inside evening and night. And if he disappears again we’ll go searching on day 4 for sure. I guess what we’re saying is that we’ll just have to accept that Bonus is a wanderer and that we need to get on with our lives even if he goes off now and then. Hopefully the cold season will put a stop to it because even Bonus doesn’t like –15 C temperatures and will stay inside anyway.

And for those of you who are thinking of commenting saying we should “turn” Bonus into and indoor cat, please come and stay with us for a week while he’s inside and you’ll understand why it’s not possible. This guy goes outside in the pouring rain in full thunderstorm. I know, because I’ve been there in the park in a mac n’ wellies with him on a leash.

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Bonus

Meet Dr. Jekyll. Here he is outside with his harness and leash on. This is day time and this is his alert look and state which involves laying down, yawning and occasionally stretching.

Or should I say Mr. Bonus? Mr. Bonus is a nocturnal creature and completely changes appearances. It starts at about bed time for the human population and ends at the crack of dawn. What does? The endless meowing, scratching and trying to escape.

Wille and I haven’t slept well since Bonus came back for the second time (and we didn’t sleep well when he was away so we’re kind of zombie like right now). This little guy can’t stand the thought of not being able to go outside at night and has almost escaped twice despite tiny window cracks (it’s hot over here and we’d suffocate with the windows completely shut), netted balcony and constant supervision. Once I found him outside the net on the balcony banister and once he squished himself through a window crack so narrow that we’re still amazed his head is intact.

On Sunday morning I’d had it with getting up constantly to pry him off the kitty door barricades. The way he bangs away at it I’m pretty sure he’ll destroy the flap if we don’t block it with furniture at night. At 4 am after just a few short moments of sleep (holding Mr.Bonus super tight against me in bed which he accepts for short moments) I got the litter box, the food and water bowls and shut both cats in the basement. I put my ear plugs and sleep mask on and got back into bed and slept until 8.30 which for me is super late.

On Sunday afternoon I rode my bike to the pet store and got an extra set of everything and put the extra bed downstairs in the basement and from now on our evening routine is that Mini and Bonus go downstairs at night while we can hopefully get a good night sleep upstairs.

This was the first week of having to keep Bonus inside. My goal is to being able to letting him go outside on his own again on my vacation in four weeks time. Fingers crossed we’ll survive the next month.

Meow.

Five Day Weekend

We’re having a five day weekend over here which is awesome because I’m getting some stuff done around the house. I do have a hard time concentrating fully on what I’m doing because Bonus went missing again.

After he disappeared the first time for three days he stayed at home one day and has now been missing for another three. It’s a mystery how he got out because we kept all the doors shut and the only way we can think of was that we let Mini out and closed the kitty door after her but when she jumped back in Bonus must have jumped out before the lock mechanism closed which is about a millisecond later..

I’m not AS worried this time because there have been sightings of him in our old neighborhood but every time I’ve gone there he’s been no where to be found.

Anyway, life goes on and hopefully we’ll have him back soonest and will keep both cats inside for a month at least.

So what have I been up to aside from bike racing to our old neighborhood at midnight?  The answer is a little bit of everything. The upstairs hall/den is painted. I’ve done some organizing in the basement and garage. I’ve added a net and kitty door to the balcony so once Bonus is back he and Mini can spend time outside safely + I’ve done a bit of gardening and some little odd bits here and there.

I hope to get my act together and take some photos of some of the progress I’ve made so far before the weekend is over so I can post something a bit more exciting than my paint covered self in the bathroom later this week.

EDIT! We've got him back! Wille went by a friend's house in the old neighborhood and passed our old house to look for Bonus and there he was! I cycled over there with the pet carrier at the speed of lightning like a mad woman  and brought him home. He's so grounded! On the plus side of this adventure; I'm getting fit after riding my bike back and forth every night. Not that I will miss it. At all.

Bonus' Adventure

 

So I haven’t told you that I’ve been on pins and needles all week since Monday morning. The reason? A certain someone decided he wanted to wander off a little bit…

After everything had gone so well with Mini and Bonus in the garden and with them seeming to enjoy it and staying in the vicinity of the house I installed the kitty door on Saturday.

On Sunday my friend Sanna and her son Leo (one of Wille’s best friends) came over and on Monday morning I was a bit concerned when Bonus didn’t show up for breakfast. When I got home from work that day and still didn’t see him I started to worry a bit but figured he was checking out the neighborhood like cats do. On Tuesday morning both Wille and I were getting really worried. I printed flyers, called the police, called the cat ID place, texted the new owner of our old house and our old neighbors (at 6.30 am…) and talked to everyone I could see in our new neighborhood. No Bonus.

Yesterday morning I got the text I was waiting for. Emma, the new owner of our old house has seen Bonus in the garden! I was on my way to work but quickly did a U-turn on the subway and met up with Wille with the pet carrier + cat food at the old house only to find out that he’d gone into the woods. Wille had to leave for school but I stayed in the woods (in the rain…) for a couple of hours but couldn’t find him so I went back home to do some work. At 2 pm Emma texted me again and said Bonus was now in the garden. I got on my bike as quick as I could and sped over there and there he was! Awwww! Poor baby! All hungry after roughing it for three days!

We came home. He ate. He fell asleep.

So, now what to do? We’ll obviously keep him inside for a while but he’s really an outdoorsy cat so it would be cruel to keep him inside forever and with Mini being allowed outside (she stays put, our little girl) it would be really complicated. Any experience? Any ideas? Thanks!