A safe place

Gallery

Posted on by
Gracie: Me? Chaos? I don't think so!

Gracie: Me? Chaos? I don’t think so!

We all need a safe place. Someplace to hide from the nasty. A place to lick our wounds and gather our courage. Even a cat.

With the addition of a fourth cat, there is chaos in the house. Not as much as you would expect but there is some.

Gracie (new cat) is cautious but not shy. She hasn’t hissed since entering this rather large cage that we all live in. She had never been in a cage with an upstairs and a basement. So much to explore.

Some of the other cats did give a hiss of “not too close” or “stop smelling my butt!”

In Miss Manner’s book of cat etiquette, you cannot sniff the caboose first. There has to be some casual conversation, perhaps a coffee meet or at least a drink.

Some cats are more brazen and jump right in or stick their nose where it doesn’t belong.

There have been no rumbles (for which I am eternally grateful). Gracie has her own room. She spent three days there isolated until we were sure she wasn’t bringing intestinal parasites along for the ride. It also gave her an opportunity to “feel safe.”

It’s downright scary being yanked from a place where you are happy (and she at a minimum comfortable). Then you are taken to a new place with new scary cats. I wonder if cats get homesick. They sure don’t like change.

The door was opened a crack earlier this week and she ventured forth. She did increasingly larger investigative circles always returning back to her “safe place.”

She found another “safe place” on the first floor. She likes the dining room chairs. It’s wonderful. They are under the table so no one can “blindside her” and she can move from chair to chair as needed. None of the cats or humans bother her there.

Other than intense staring (mostly from one-eyed Morgan) only Hazel will give her a minor (very minor) chase. Not to worry. Hazel is quite overweight and couldn’t catch a geriatric mouse in a cardiac arrest episode. She fears sharing her food more than sharing her house.

Tomorrow it will be a week. All good so far. Do you have a safe place?

 

 

48 thoughts on “A safe place”

    • It happens slowly. I had one for decades. Then two, then three, then four. Only the first three were planned. I adopted a one-eyed cat because I feared no one else would. One died and I was resolved not to replace him as I thought I was downsizing. Then Gracie touched my heart with her one eye. It’s a slippery slope. 🙂

      Like

      Reply ↓

  2. I am glad that all is going well. Gracie is in a great home and I am happy she has found a safe place. All seems well for your cats at your place. They have thoughtful humans taking care of them and loving them. I do have a safe place, more a comfortable place… our four seasons porch.
    Good Morning!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • We have been together for a long time. At first he wasn’t excited about multiples but a couple things happened. One cat adopted him and he liked that. Then he saw how much enjoyment I get out of having pets. We don’t do large vacations or expensive hobbies. At the end of the day, I think he does it for me but he gets a kick out of seeing them transition and thrive.

      Like

      Reply ↓

  8. Cats can teach us so much about relaxing, sitting in the sun, reflecting probably on nothing. 🙂 Yes, I have an armchair that overlooks a window to the woods and the fireplace on cold nights. And the sun shines through on it through another window during the day. A cat-kind of safe place.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  9. It’s fascinating to watch animals negotiate. Since Dog Three’s departure, Devil Cat has started to realize that she can now roam the ground floor again. She and Dog Four are finding a new way to accommodate one another. Right now – for the first time – they are both sleeping on the couch behind me.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • I had a devil cat that passed around 2005. I had to keep her and Jake separated. When she passed, Jake was much easier. He accepted both Mollie and Hazel easily. By the time Morgan came along, he was old and tired and cranky (and probably not feeling so great). He never chased her but if she tried to sniff him, he wacked her. She kept her distance from him and all was well. Personalities in pets make a huge difference.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

  11. Cats are interesting creatures. I have three (actually I should technically say my son does), and my daughter who is temporarily staying here has one. They are all unique. Autumn was the first cat. She was a tiny baby from the shelter. My son named her. She became ill while very young, and I was afraid she wouldn’t make it. She did, and she is something else. Next, we got Delilah from the shelter. She is one that is anti-social, and does not like other cats. She lives in her own room, quite content. Remmie, my son’s newest addition (named after a gun), is still a kitten, so to speak. She was found in my daughter’s car engine, and is lucky to be alive. She is full of spunk. She learned how to open his dresser drawers, and likes to carry his socks around. She will always leave them in the water bowl. She recently had to have a major surgery to remove a foreign object from her intestines! She is healing well. LaLa is my daughter’s cat. She is the kind that likes to knock cups off of tables, and instigate trouble. She was found in my daughter’s yard, and had to be bottle fed. No one knows how she got there. But all cat’s have unique personalities, and I find them interesting.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  12. Gracie’s beautiful and I’m so glad she’s settling in. I think all animals have their safe place. Maggie finds it difficult on the boat as there aren’t that many places she can ‘hide’. However, she can get into the bathroom where it’s darkest and fits under the coffee table where it’s coolest. She also knows the warmest place at night is next to me, hot flushes rule! Bless her. Like the name by the way.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  18. “Hazel is quite overweight and couldn’t catch a geriatric mouse in a cardiac arrest episode.” Couldn’t stop laughing at this one! Our first cat was like that and unfortunately we lost her to the medical complications that come from that. We’re trying to be more mindful of that now. Glad Gracie is settling in.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

    • Ah Hazel. She bloomed up when Morgan joined the household. I put her on a diet (and it wasn’t pretty). She lost 4 lbs. She started picking up some weight again (she steals food) and I’m watching her like a hawk. With a new cat, she is sneaking leftovers wherever she can find them. Once Gracie is incorporated, I will refocus on Hazel’s weight. I worry about health and the ability to clean herself.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

        • Growing up our cats only ate wet food. They thought kibble was to play with and scatter on the floor. Many shelters feed them dry because it’s easier and less messy. Once they get accustomed to whatever, it’s hard to change. We have never been successful at completely weaning Mollie and Morgan off of dry. Both came from the same shelter and they will eat wet but only some. Wet is healthier for cats.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply ↓

  21. Although we didn’t have other cats to deal with, my kitty decided that the guest room bed was her safe place. As shy as she was, just about anyone could pet her if she was on “her” bed. I always felt sorry for her when we had guests visiting – not only did she have unfamiliar humans to be wary of, she couldn’t retreat to her bed. I suspect that Gracie will be sniffing butts to her heart’s content in no time.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • Mollie moved into one of our guest rooms as soon as we adopted her. When we need it for guests, she will still go in there. She’ll sleep on their clothes during the day. She often sleeps on our bed at night so that is less of a problem. I always feel sorry when her routine is disrupted.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

Don't be shy, I'd love to hear what you're thinking!