IT TOOK THREE

In my earlier blog I mentioned that I occasionally babysit my sister’s cat, Pepper. Well last week happened to be one of those times, along with taking care of my granddaughter, Claire. Yep, I got a double whammy. I will say on the most part all went well. Pepper is not too fond of being picked-up and carried, but seemed to hang in there for the most part, especially when Claire wanted to use Pepper for imaginative play. He actually started winding his way among Claire’s toys. (Claire loves Pet Shop pets and pet furniture and it looked as though Pepper did too.)

Last week I had a follow-up appointment with the eye doctor and called Strawn who was vacationing in Puerto Rico. She was headed home early and begged me to bring Pepper. Very reluctantly, I agreed. My last experience of traveling with Pepper was not the greatest. My sister Peggy and I not only had a hard time catching the cat, but the trip was filled with a volatile aroma beyond mentioning on this blog. I will simply say that for over two hours we both held one of those baby-wipe Kleenex tissues up at our nose and periodical would take a whiff into the tissue.

Anyway back to the story, Strawn had specifically said not to let Pepper see his travel carrier and all would be fine. So per her instructions we left the carrier outside the door. Claire and I gathered our stuff throughout the day and placed it either in the car or by the door. When Jim came home we preceded to finish packing the car. Lastly it was time for Pepper, per Strawn’s instructions, which was going to ride in the front seat. (I WAS THRILLED!) Evidently the cat is smarter than we all thought for we had an all-out search party of three trying to find him. Claire finally checked under my king-size bed and found him in the middle area to the very back and unreachable.

Treats, urgent and soft calling/pleading etc. simply did not work. So I undertook plan two…long-handled objects to push him out into Claire/Jimmy territory, where they could GRAB him. Finally, I had to go for more desperate measures. I got my long-handled, battery broom vacuum and turned it on to add sound to the process. (I am here to tell you that the underside of my king-size bed is very clean.) Via Claire’s directional instructions (How blessed it must to be young and able to get down on your belly and look under the bed.) I was able to place blockades on each side of the bed. Along with Claire and Jim at each post, I maneuvered the broom back and forth under the bed. The only way out was at the foot of the bed. In the meantime we shut all doors to all areas of the house, but “DA” did not close the bedroom door. It worked…BUT! Pepper came out and immediately headed under the dresser.

At this point I need to stop and inform you that all three of us were reluctant to put our hands under that dresser. Pepper is known to bite and none of us wanted his feline teeth getting a piece of us. Before any of us could come up with a plan that cat managed to run past the three of us and he headed towards the dining room. He found refuge under the dining room table. (Note! Three of us…four sided table.) Again, he got away and headed for the living room and under another table…..thank goodness this table was against the wall and limited his running space. Still reluctant, I knew I was going to have to be the brave one of the group. Reaching towards him on my end of the table, Pepper lunges towards Jim ,who with quick reflexes, pushes his hand down and over the top of Pepper’ head/shoulders and pins him to the floor, while Claire runs to get his carrier. Gritting my teeth and taking a deep breath I picked him up and I quickly placed Pepper in Jim’s hands, which in turn quickly places him into the carrier. By the way, Pepper weighs a ton and is extremely heavy for a cat.

Furthermore, Strawn could not understand why we had so much trouble catching HER cat for she has no problems whatsoever. Well, HELLO, who does he belong to…? LOL

Surprisingly, Pepper behaved well on the trip home. Of course, Claire and I kept a running conversation going to each other and anyone on the phone who would talk/listen to us as we traveled to Pepper’s home. (Two hours steady of chit chat) We would pretend we were talking to Pepper and, periodically, I would unzip the top of the carrier and cautiously give him a rub or a scratch on his head or behind his ear. (Pepper likes to be scratched, not petted).

Although not a cat lover, I will admit that I do/can tolerate Pepper. He is a handsome cat, although moody and unpredicable. He can be quite entertaining. He loves to play with his toys and Tulula (A lively, white fluffy dog which belongs to Karen, a friend of Strawn's). He's a bird watcher. He also likes to sniff the computer, loves the sound of a printer, and chews on cat nip, etc. Pepper will actually stand up to Buddy, Jay and Lacy's dog. I really do not mind occasionally taking care of him, but unfortunately he does not exactly care for me. I guess cats really do have a great sense of…