Cheyenne and Lucky's Grand Adventure
I previously stated how my cats are the best form of distraction ever. I still hold to that, but would like to add a disclaimer: DISTRACTIONS ARE BAD WHEN THEY HIT BEFORE DAYLIGHT.
In case you've never seen the cats, look here:
Cute, huh? They are the devil incarnate.
Cheyenne (the stripey one) is viciously clever and somewhat of a trouble maker. She has a tendency to open doors and tear open bags of treats. Lucky (the white one) is rather dumb and quite possibly can be considered the Tommy Lee of the feline world. He also likes to destroy things - vases get smashed, video cards cracked, keyboard keys pulled off... you get the idea. He's also some kind of Oriental cat so he talks. Frequently. We've gotten used to these kitty quirks. They're cats, this is what they do.
It's summer, so they like the windows to be open. We have a small one that stays open in our bedroom during the summer that overlooks our driveway and the side street. Since they're indoor cats, this is the extent of the outside for them unless we take them on the porch on a leash or the the vet in the carrier, like normal indoor cats. They fight over the windowsill view most of the time, but lately Lucky has been taking to curling up on the bed and Cheyenne perching near the window. She likes bird watching, so this is fine.
It was a ruse.
It was a night of broken sleep for me, so I heard everything all night long, including the odd scratching noise. I looked up and saw Cheyenne on the windowsill and told her to be quiet. The noise stopped for a little and started again. Then Lucky jumped off the bed. I heard the noise again. I looked back up and saw Lucky on the sill and no Cheyenne, which is odd because I didn't hear her jump down. I got up to take a closer look to find Lucky OUTSIDE THE BEDROOM WINDOW.
Both of the cats were outside on the little roof that covers the entraceway to our basement. Cheyenne was sitting watching the sun and Lucky was pacing around. Cheyenne had tore a hole into the screen large enough for her to go through and then Lucky muscled his was through it and made it larger. The hole was maybe a little larger than a softball. When I called them they gave me that cat look that says "This is where WE belong. Leave us alone."
I freaked out and got Josh out of bed and in our pajamas at a little before 5.30 in the morning we stood in the driveway, trying to reclaim our cats. Josh nearly broke a plastic chair trying to get at them and I couldn't reach them at all since I'm a foot shorter. We woke the neighbors dog, which startled Lucky. Neither cat would jump down because it was too high. We figured that treats should work, what cat doesn't like treats?
I ran back inside and grabbed the treats, shaking them as I went back into the bedroom. Lucky heard them and as soon as I took some out, he forced his way back into the screen hole. Cheyenne, of course, wasn't buying it. She wanted the treats on the roof. I couldn't get the screen out of the window so Josh and I had to switch places. Finally he got it open and dragged her back inside.
The pre-alarm drama finally ending at 5.37, taking about 10 minutes at most but it felt much longer. Of course, the cats weren't fazed. The stripey one was purring away like nobody's business the whole time I was getting ready for work and the white one pulled himself up onto the bathroom window sill (with an exponentially stronger windowscreen) and began the morning ritual of watching cars.
I think it may be a 2-coffee, 1-energy drink kind of day.
In case you've never seen the cats, look here:
Cute, huh? They are the devil incarnate.
Cheyenne (the stripey one) is viciously clever and somewhat of a trouble maker. She has a tendency to open doors and tear open bags of treats. Lucky (the white one) is rather dumb and quite possibly can be considered the Tommy Lee of the feline world. He also likes to destroy things - vases get smashed, video cards cracked, keyboard keys pulled off... you get the idea. He's also some kind of Oriental cat so he talks. Frequently. We've gotten used to these kitty quirks. They're cats, this is what they do.
It's summer, so they like the windows to be open. We have a small one that stays open in our bedroom during the summer that overlooks our driveway and the side street. Since they're indoor cats, this is the extent of the outside for them unless we take them on the porch on a leash or the the vet in the carrier, like normal indoor cats. They fight over the windowsill view most of the time, but lately Lucky has been taking to curling up on the bed and Cheyenne perching near the window. She likes bird watching, so this is fine.
It was a ruse.
It was a night of broken sleep for me, so I heard everything all night long, including the odd scratching noise. I looked up and saw Cheyenne on the windowsill and told her to be quiet. The noise stopped for a little and started again. Then Lucky jumped off the bed. I heard the noise again. I looked back up and saw Lucky on the sill and no Cheyenne, which is odd because I didn't hear her jump down. I got up to take a closer look to find Lucky OUTSIDE THE BEDROOM WINDOW.
Both of the cats were outside on the little roof that covers the entraceway to our basement. Cheyenne was sitting watching the sun and Lucky was pacing around. Cheyenne had tore a hole into the screen large enough for her to go through and then Lucky muscled his was through it and made it larger. The hole was maybe a little larger than a softball. When I called them they gave me that cat look that says "This is where WE belong. Leave us alone."
I freaked out and got Josh out of bed and in our pajamas at a little before 5.30 in the morning we stood in the driveway, trying to reclaim our cats. Josh nearly broke a plastic chair trying to get at them and I couldn't reach them at all since I'm a foot shorter. We woke the neighbors dog, which startled Lucky. Neither cat would jump down because it was too high. We figured that treats should work, what cat doesn't like treats?
I ran back inside and grabbed the treats, shaking them as I went back into the bedroom. Lucky heard them and as soon as I took some out, he forced his way back into the screen hole. Cheyenne, of course, wasn't buying it. She wanted the treats on the roof. I couldn't get the screen out of the window so Josh and I had to switch places. Finally he got it open and dragged her back inside.
The pre-alarm drama finally ending at 5.37, taking about 10 minutes at most but it felt much longer. Of course, the cats weren't fazed. The stripey one was purring away like nobody's business the whole time I was getting ready for work and the white one pulled himself up onto the bathroom window sill (with an exponentially stronger windowscreen) and began the morning ritual of watching cars.
I think it may be a 2-coffee, 1-energy drink kind of day.