The wheelchair may freak the cat out, they said. They may run from the wheelchair. It may be big and scary.

To that, codswallop say I!

—

Gesso is doing his usual and running away from me again. I go to pat him, approaching slowly and so he can see me coming. He runs away.

‘Hop in the wheelchair’ says Andrew.

I jump in. Gesso stops and looks.

Andrew prompts: ‘Give him the signal’.

I move the fingers on my hand like a quacking duck. (Andrew has been trying to teach Gesso that this signal means come. Teaching a deaf cat – good luck with that. A regular cat is bad enough at coming when called!)

To my surprise, this bundle of white fluff, runs back towards me. I pat his head. He is no longer terrified.

—

So it would seem that Andrew’s theory is right. Far from being scared of the wheelchair, as some feared he would be, he is afraid of bipeds! How strange I must seem – this tall creature that moves quickly through the house.

—

It’s been a tough couple of weeks catwise, what with losing chilli and now, since Tuesday, Saffron having acute cystitis. She’s been to the vet – TWICE – and is going back tomorrow. Third time lucky? She has improved ever so slightly (meaning less blood; still frequent – small – urination).

The upshot of all this is Saffron has been confined to the bathroom for the past few days. I’m sure that this freaks her out a little more, however, she is wee-ing (or at least attempting it) so frequently that I can’t trust her outside the bathroom.

Licorice is highly unimpressed as she too, has been calling the bathroom home for the past 4 days. (The girls don’t like separation and I have few other places to put a litter tray should I lock Licorice out of the bathroom). So I am left with one cat who squats frequently and one who is just plain grouchy. She lets me know of her displeasure at every possibly opportunity.

So it would seem there is one member of my furry flock left; is he grumble-free? Well, bipeds are most certainly ok with Pickle. As far as I know, his bathroom business is all in tact and he has the run of the house. So all in all, I think the ginger ninja is a happy camper. Here’s a photo I captured of him earlier this evening.

HIs whiskers look rather grand in profile!