Mittens

I'd like you to meet Mittens, beloved cat of Gary and Cecile. They left her in our care while they went to Portland to be with grandchild number three. Mittens has become quite attached to us in the three days of their absence. The first day she sat on top of their mid-size truck, the second day we didn't see much of her at all, and today she's been pretty much a stay-at-home cat needing lots of love and attention. She has quite a loud purr which makes me happy since I think that's the sign of contentment. Not growing up with cats I've been slowly getting to know they are oh-so-different than dogs in that they can take you or leave you at the drop of a hat. Once they're fed, they basically have not much to do with you at all until it's time to eat again. But we've enjoyed caring for this pretty kitty.

Today she needed lots of snuggles.

There are stories to go along with this "Mittens" post.

The other day she had been secured in their rig for the night and somehow she would escaped . . . several times. Nobody could figure out how she did it since her "kitty door" was closed and the screen door was latched. Cecile went inside for something, closing the screen door behind her, and literally watched Mittens hop onto the arm of the couch, with her paw she slid open the slide door and unlatched the screen door . . . just like you or I would. She's probably seen it done a million times. So much for needing a kitty door!

It takes her quite a while to get comfy because she's always on the watch for anything . . . be it a critter, the sound of a bird, a leaf falling . . . or her ears are just twitching listening for various unknown sounds.

She has just recently become an outdoor cat after a year being only kept inside the rig. Camp Cascadia is certainly country living at its finest. Mittens came home one morning soaking wet with a bit of pond moss hanging on her tail. She seemed a bit embarrassed. The only thing we could figure out is that she may have seen a fish in Karen's pond next door and decided to "get it" not knowing she couldn't walk on water! Hmmmm . . . a bit of a learning curve . . . but she hasn't tried it again.

As seen from our deck, this is the trail which she favors to go to the pond, one of her favorite paths to adventure.

I received this picture in an email the other day and can imagine Mittens leaping into the pond (maybe not ever trying that before and perhaps thinking she could 'walk on water') to catch whatever she may have seen.

Life is good!