It's been a change for all of them, but mostly for the good. It's sunny every day and the cats especially like that. All cat lovers know how much kitties enjoy warmth and there is a ton of that here in Arizona. Since we leave the doors open to the back yard, the pets can come and go as they want and the five foot wall around the back keeps them from getting out. So at any given time you can find them out basking in the sun or asleep in the shade on our patio furniture.
The back yard is also a center point for bird activity. Our three bird feeders have become the most popular gathering point for every bird in the Mohave Desert. Morning Doves, Quail, Finches, you name it. They greet us every morning with a chorus of beautiful bird calls. Bing, our great hunter cat doesn't really care about how pretty they are or how entertaining their singing is. He simply wants to catch, kill and drag one home. So numerous times a day you will see him stalking a bird or laying frozen staring at the feeders. The problem for Bing is that we don't have grass here like our old home. Instead we have sand, gravel and rocks and the kitties don't travel well on this. His days of exploding like a bullet to pounce upon his unsuspecting victim has been to reduced to him gingerly tip-toeing across the harsh stones. Definitely not the best mode of travel for a predator.
The dogs are happy as dogs can be. They have decided that our pool is a big toilet and therefore suitable for drinking water. The cats think the same so throughout the day you will see a tail in the air and a head in the pool while they take a sip or two. So far, Charlie Brown, our largest cat, at approximately 16 pounds, is the only one to have successfully fallen into the pond. It was quite the show and very entertaining. We heard a splash, and then saw him scurrying to drag himself out. It was pretty funny until a minute later we realized we now had a large, pissed-off and very wet cat running around the house. Charlie Brown was so shaken by his near death experience that it took him about a week to even approach the pool again.
Safety of our pets also became a big concern here in Arizona. Back in Kansas City you could pretty much let your pets out in the yard with no concerns. I remember some of our cats, Bing especially, spending the night out. However, things here are quite different. We have Coyotes, Bob Cats and Mountain Lions who live and hunt in the wash just behind our home. While they are pretty happy filling their recipe books with the abundance of Jack Rabbits, Quail, snakes, rodents, etc., they will happily make a meal out of a house cat.
We have heard numerous stories about Coyotes easily leaping privacy fences, snagging a pet and vanishing back into the night. In fact, we just spoke to a couple the other day who lost a cat who wouldn't come in one night. So we have a system. When the sun begins to go down,
the unofficial hunting start time for our local predators, the cats come inside. They aren't always happy about it and like a young child, we can't convey to them the danger they face if we left them out.
So everyone is settling in well. As I write this Marcy is sitting by the pool drinking coffee. The dogs are laying near her in the sun and the cats are circling the pool passing one another as if they were sentries walking a beat around an important location.
Sending all my friends and family loads of sunshine from Arizona.
Have a purrable day...
Nick
www.nicksacco.com
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