Our cat, Clover, is under house arrest. He's an indoor/outdoor cat, half wild. We've tried to put a collar on him a couple times but he always manages to get them off. He roams the neighborhood pretty freely. Welll, someone tried to pet him and he bit her. Just a little nip, but enough to break the skin. I think this person is not familiar with cats, as she said he was lying on his back and she thought he wanted his belly rubbed like a dog would. So then she panicked because she thought he was a stray (no collar). She took herself to urgent care because she was afraid of getting rabies (if you are afraid of getting rabies - do not pet animals you think are strays!) Because she went to a doctor the doctor informed her that they were required by law to call animal control. After Clover bit her, she snapped a photo of him. Then she went around to every house asking people if they knew who this cat belonged to. Eventually, somehow she found out it was us.
Anyway, long story short, Clover has to be quarantined for 10 days indoors. Then we have to notify the health department of whether he is healthy or not. He got all his shots, so I am not worried, but now the poor cat must stay in doors. We have to be careful about going in and out now. And little D simply doesn't understand that chasing and terrorizing the cat isn't fun for the cat, like it is when humans play the "I'm gonna get you" game of chasing little D around the house and then catching him up in a big hug and a loud raspberry on the belly!
We are now on day three of confinement. We got new scratching posts for him but I've yet to see him use them. I'm worried about my newly reupholstered couches. We also got some cat toys to keep him from being bored. I can see already why indoor cats seem to get so fat. They are bored and the temptation is to overfeed them to get them to stop meowing at you. Plus they don't get enough exercise. We actually got a halter and leash too. Maybe today I will try to get it on him (good luck with that. I know he'll hate it!)
In the mornings when I sit at the laptop, I have to put my feet up on a chair or else he keeps brushing against my ankles at first patiently but then he gets frustrated at me and starts nipping. Right now though he is curled up next to me. I think he was lonely all night so he's glad I'm up.
I am wondering what we should do for the poor girl who got bitten by him. I only know her first name. I kind of want to send her flowers or something. Maybe just a note of apology. I forget that cats can annoy others, plus a lot of people think you shouldn't have outdoor cats to begin with.
We've had a lot of pet drama lately. I still forget that Tillie isn't around anymore. If I hear keys jangle I think it is her collar and tags jangling. If I hear a dog barking outside for a second I think oh no, I've forgotten to feed Tillie or something. I miss having a dog too because I really appreciate the watchdog aspect, especially when I am alone in the house.
But right now I am resolving to be a better pet owner of my two cats. Poor Thumbelina is so old and ill. She's going to go any time now. And my rascally younger cat, who got himself in trouble, needs more attention now that he's indoors all the time.
Some cats NEED to be outside, and there's not much you can do about it. Good luck getting through your quarantine! Oddly enough, the same thing just happened in our neighborhood - police notices everywhere searching for a cat that I know belongs to a neighbor, and the complaint was called in by the woman who lives right next door! You'd think she'd realize whose cat it was.
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