Saturday morning, I took the bucket of kitchen scraps out to the compost heap. I heard George and Gracie going nuts over something, so I glanced over to see what they were doing. They were both intent on something just outside the fence on the far side of the back forty that I couldn’t see, so I walked a little further.
All I could see was a set of pointy ears and a snout that looked very much like it could be a coyote. I went back to the house, banged on the computer room window, and beckoned Fred outside. He came to the side stoop and I told him to get his shoes and a gun. He did, and we went out to where George and Gracie were and found…
Not a coyote.
He was a friendly little guy and though he had a collar on, there were no tags on it, so obviously we didn’t know who to call or where he’d come from. He came right over to be petted, and when Fred went into the chicken yard to get a bowl of dog food for him (Fred thought the puppy was on the thin side – I didn’t particularly think so, but then I’m also not a dog person, so what do I know?) the puppy tried to follow Fred into the chicken yard. Judging by how worked up George and Gracie were, I didn’t think that would be a good idea, so I held him by his collar.
He sniffed at the bowl of dog food but didn’t eat, and when Fred and I walked back to the house, he followed. He drank some of the water out of the bowl on the side stoop, and then was pretty sure he was coming inside when Fred walked into the house. Fred pushed him back and came inside, and the puppy sat on the side stoop and first he whined and then he howled, and then he went back to hang out near George and Gracie.
Given that he was in such good shape, we were pretty sure he’d wandered away from home rather than been dropped off. I went outside a few minutes later to see what he was doing. He saw me, and ran over to be petted.
Yes, that IS an eye booger on his cheek.
We had errands to run, so we printed out a picture of him and went to a few houses asking people if they knew who he belonged to. No one did, and we decided that when we got home we’d put an ad on the Craigslist lost & found section, and maybe run a printout of his picture up to the corner store.
He was napping near the chicken yard when we got home, and ran over to be petted when he saw us. For the next couple of hours, every time I checked on him he was hanging out near George and Gracie (who finally calmed down about his presence), and then when I went out around 2:00 to see if he wanted a piece of cheese (Fred had offered him several different dog treats, and he was completely uninterested, which blew us both away.) he was gone. We looked for him and called him, but he never reappeared.
I really think that he must belong to someone who lives around here, given that he was in such good shape, he was friendly, and he was wearing a collar. Obviously, if he shows up again we’ll stick him in the blue coop yard until we find out where he lives. I hope he made his way home, though.
Oh, and I’m thinking someone’s been working on training him already, because he knew “sit” and performed it beautifully several times.
So, I managed to get a shot of Buster and Rhyme together:
(And yes, we DO call them “Busta Rhyme”!)
But then, Friday evening I got a call from the shelter manager. She said that the Friday night adoption counselors were concerned about Corbett, that he wasn’t eating and had lost weight, that he was lethargic and they thought he might be sick. I pondered for a moment, then told her that I’d take Rhyme up and bring Corbett home. After I hung up, I reconsidered and talked to Fred, and we decided to take Buster and Rhyme up and bring Corbett and Reacher home, since Rhyme and Reacher hadn’t seen each other in a month, and I was afraid that it would stress them both out.
Corbett, who is a skinny cat to begin with, had clearly lost weight. Neither he nor Reacher looked very happy, and they howled all the way home.
(Before I forget to mention it, Buster and Rhyme were not at ALL freaked out to be back at Petsmart. In fact, Buster climbed into the cage and began eating right away. That made me feel a lot better about leaving them there.)
When we got home, it was my intent to put Reacher and Corbett in the guest bedroom, give them some canned food, and spend a little time with them to see how they were acting. So Fred was in the guest bedroom with them, I went to get canned food, and when I opened the door, Corbett shot out into the house.
We ended up doing snack time for all the cats, and both Reacher and Corbett ate just fine. Corbett went over to Elwood and butted heads with him, and Corbett and Reacher slept with me all night long. Saturday morning when Fred opened the back door, Reacher and Corbett went right out into the back yard. Corbett’s been eating just fine and acting like himself, so I’m going to say he wasn’t sick, he was sad and scared and stressed out.
So I don’t know what’s going to happen when Buster and Rhyme are adopted and it’s time for Reacher and Corbett to go again. Maybe it would help if I went up to Petsmart every day and spent some time with them and helped them get adjusted to being there. I don’t know. To be honest, I’m just not going to think about it right now. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Starsky and Hutch are off the formula. They’re off the canned food, too, actually – neither of them are at all interested in any of the canned cat food I’ve offered them. They’re eating kibble just fine (though they do still have to kind of sit in the bowl while they’re eating) and they’re drinking water. Maybe they’re just kibble kitties – all I can tell you is that they’re happy, they’re healthy, and they’re gaining weight. You certainly can’t ask for more than that!
They’re also starting to climb – a couple of times when I’ve gone into the room, they’ve been on the small cat tree, and they always act all amazed when I ask them how they got up there, like they’re saying “I don’t KNOW how I got up here!” They’re able to get down just fine, too. They’re growing up!
Doesn’t he look like a sulky little monkey?
“And then I CLIMBED up onto the cat tree, and it was so cool! You could see ALL the way across the room from up there!”
Displeased Starsky.
Hutch in a bucket!
“What?”
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: I was so concerned for their safety that I ran and got the camera. Ahem.
2006: But there’s no horn on the lawnmower!
2005: Did you feel the earth shake too?
2004: No entry.
2003: No entry.
2002: No entry.
2001: No entry.
2000: My breasts are strawberry scented.
1999: I was ambitious today.