Keely's Big Adventure

At a recent work holiday happy hour, I was talking with a few of my co-workers on the walk to our cars and one asked me how I would handle a person who was being rude to or about Keely. This was part of a larger conversation we'd been having about house guests and pets. I shared a story earlier in the conversation about my friend's son playing with Keely for the entire time he visited and how it exhausted the cat so much he slept a solid 24 hours. Someone else shared about a time when a guest came over and was horrified that the dog was allowed to stay out when people were visiting. Really? The dog lives there; you are visiting. I don't get people who know they're visiting a house with animals and then are surprised the animals are there. It makes be rage-ful when people ask me if Keely is going to bite them when they come over. No, my cat is not going to bite you. Cats don't walk up to a person and bite them for no reason. If you give him a reason, well, maybe you shouldn't be around cats.

Anyway, my response to the question about rudeness was "I would have words with a person who was rude to or about Keely. If they tried to physically harm my cat son, I would fight them and win." My co-worker chuckled and said something like "that's what I thought you'd say," but not in a judge-y way. It's my duty as a pet mom to defend my pet. That's how it works. If you're not prepared for this part of your responsibility as a pet parent, don't get a pet. Ever.

We celebrated Keely's first year with me back in June, and it's been a good one. Challenging at times, but a good first year. Keely has had to adjust to a lot in that time, and he's slowly becoming more comfortable with me. Of course, just as we're getting comfy, I go and decide to buy a house and upset the entire order of our lives with a move. Baby boy is stressed out, and apparently hates boxes. How did I end up with a cat who hates boxes?

As the process of purchasing the condo was going on, I was planning how to best introduce Keely to his new home. We're not officially moving in until after Christmas, so we'd also have a visit to my parents in the middle of all of this, so what would be the best way to get him used to the new place? I decided to take him over with me before all our stuff arrives to explore and rub his little face on everything. I packed him up and took him over to keep me company while I waited for the cable guy.

Keely doesn't get to go on very many adventures. He's recently started hissing at me when I try to put him the carrier, so leaving the house is not one of our preferred activities. Keely's adventures mainly consist of tracking the ghost in our apartment (it might be a ghost, it might be our upstairs neighbors - we'll never really know), playing with his favorite toy mouse so enthusiastically that it gets stuck under the oven or refrigerator, napping, and communing with a spider that lives between the glass and screen of my bedroom window. He lives a very full indoor life.

I got him into the big carrier (we have two carriers) by bribing him with treats and then quickly closing the carrier door. He hissed at me and gave me a look that said, "you thought my revenge for the bow ties was going to be bad, just wait." He was pretty quiet on the actual drive over to the condo, plotting his revenge on me in his very devious cat way. We arrived at the condo, and thankfully, none of our dog neighbors were outside. I carried him up the stairs and let him out of the carrier. He darted out of the carrier so fast I barely had time to get out of his way. He ran around the condo with a speed I've never seen. He slid across the tile floor in the kitchen. He jumped on the window ledges. He rubbed his face on the walls. He decided to explore the bathtub. He found the sun patches. He escaped into the main hallway.

Yes, he got out of the condo. I went out to the car to grab a few things, and was coming back inside and he darted out. Thankfully, he was still inside and I was able to catch him and get him back inside. I'm going to have to baby gate the entry until he understands that it's not okay to dart outside. It was a very busy three hours.

I have no idea if bringing Keely over to the condo was a good idea, but at least when he comes back next week, it'll smell like him and he'll see our stuff and maybe feel a bit more like it's his home. He can continue his pursuit of rubbing his face on everything to make it his, and maybe he'll make a new spider friend. Hopefully, he'll get used to the new noises around the community and find his ideal napping spots.

Did I mention the fireplace? I didn't even turn the fireplace on, and Keely figured out that it's the best place in the condo. What's even going to happen when I figure out how to turn it on?

We've got one more day of packing, a few days of vacation, and then we move. How many new adventures will Keely find in 2020?

I'm suspicious of everything. 

Coming next weekend on the Island: the last post of 2019 - a look at the year that was 2019! Happy Holidays from me and Keely!