Since last Sunday, Rudy’s had to go for a walk almost every day. Right around lunchtime, he starts acting like an ass, so I stuff him in the car and take him to the park or walk him around the neighborhood.
Monday was a holiday and the weather was nice, so there were tons of people at the park–people who get a kick out of seeing a cat on a leash and want to pet him and talk to him. I can’t get over how much he loves the attention.
When people walking their dogs see that he’s not afraid and doesn’t flip out when their dog gets closer, they think it’s okay to let the dog put his face in Rudy’s. I always mention that the dog WILL get smacked on the nose, but some people don’t listen. And the dog gets smacked on the nose. I pretend to be upset for the sake of the owner, but deep down I’m proud of Rudy for being so predictable and cat-like.
The weather was crappy the last few days, but come lunchtime, he starts acting like a jerk right on cue. I’ll drag toys around so he can chase them, but Rosie’s a toy hog and always gets there first. Luckily, some fat squirrels were pretty active stealing old cardboard from my little balcony, so that kept everyone entertained for a bit. I also hung a bird feeder right outside the office window, but the birds (and squirrels) have yet to find it.
I took Thursday off to get shit done. One of my top priorities was blocking off the parts of the cat wall that are dangerous. They’re not inherently unsafe, but cats who think the laws of gravity don’t apply to them and who are completely unconcerned with where they are in space are susceptible to falls. Scraping up bodies and paying to have them repaired is not something I’m interested in doing. So I erected a fence.
It’s not pretty and it’s not all bolted down yet, but I experience less anxiety when they think they should be fed, but I won’t feed them, so they start running around the room like fools.
