(Click first photo to enlarge them all.)

The Kitten Way (Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way!)

Ollie is now eight times the weight he was when the kittens were left beside my garage two months ago and his sisters have increased in weight four times. They now reside in the guest bedroom which has a sliding glass door to the outside that I leave open.  I’ve built plywood walls that block their progress outside to a 20 foot long outside terrace devoted completely to them.  It is shaded by napa palms whose trunks are too slippery for them to climb to gain access to the wall that seals my house off from the street.  We bought a big bag of sand to put in the planter that runs along the wall so they now have inside and outside litter places. They sleep piled on top of each other on the newest and most comfortable bed in the house and also have access to a new very large outside doghouse with raised entry so the rain can’t get in. This will hopefully be their sleeping place once they’ve had their rabies shots and/or spaying and neutering.

Kukla and Roo, however, are not content with their roaming area.  A few days ago, I was in my bathroom feeding Annie, my 15 year old cat who has decided to become an inside cat.  She refuses to stir outside of my bathroom and has commandeered the large tub/shower area for her own, complete with cushy bed and litter tray.  She will deign to leave her sanctuary only for meals and affectionate head scratchings. At any rate, I was getting ready for a party, so I left the bathroom but was back and forth doing those sortings and puttings-away that seem to mainly get done when company is coming.  I was just passing the door to my  (Annie’s) bathroom when Kukla came streaking out of the door.  How in the world?  She was supposed to be in her own room or run with all doors closed and walls constructed!  She ran into my bedroom which had sliding glass doors, two of which were open to the back yard where the dread dogs were!

I slid the sliders closed, then glanced into the bathroom just in time to see Roo spread-eagled at the window, inside the bars, about to climb through the glass slats and the screen, which evidently they’d forced open in spite of the fact that it was screwed in place!  This window was immediately over Annie’s bed. She looked surprised and stunned–too discombobulated to hiss as she usually did in their presence.  I extracted Roo, pushed the screen shut and cranked the glass louvers completely shut.

R.I.P. Annie. (No. Not departed.  Just literally resting in peace, quietly purring, happy for her restored solitude.)

Resourceful kittens will find their own way.

For Cee’s Which Way Challenge. (Sorry, but WordPress won’t let me establish a link.)