Hide and seek

I travel ... and that's what happens!!

Whenever I travel for an extended period of time, I have to make arrangements for the day-to-day life of my ... cats. I strongly believe that someone who travels as much as I do should not have animals at home sitting alone, but my little "babies" are not disposable toys ... so for the time being, I have to live with it.

I have people (most often my mom) going to my house checking the everything is OK, bring in the mail, water the plants, and of course feed the cats, and in winter empty the litter box.

I specify in winter because in summer, I leave the patio door open 24/7. I mean, I have a system where I lock the door open about 15cm wide and so Mimi and Tigger can go in and out, I is less boring for them and they can go outside.

I know, I know. You are probably thinking: if the cats can go in and out, what else can do it too?? Well, over the years my teenager cats have had wild parties at home while I was not there, inviting friends and uninvited guests showing up whenever.

I have come back to see my neighbor's cat or dog eating my cats food in the kitchen. I have found only parts of a eaten rabbit (the only thing left was a back leg ...) Tigger seems to really like rabbits, mice, blue jays, sparrows and yes even squirrels (it is so weird to see Tigger coming up the outdoor stairs with a squirrel in his mouth.) I know it is Tigger that brings meals inside because Mimi does not eat anything else but her packaged dried food.

On night, I woke uo to the sound of kitchen doors being slammed. I thought my cats decided to play hide-and-seek in the kitchen but when I saw that both of them were sleeping on my bed, I could not ignore the noise and that I had uninvited guests in the house. I arrived in the kitchen to surprise a little family, dad, mon and baby raccoons trying to find a snack! I was lucky that they found their way out easily and rapidly. Noise and light made the job.

Recently, some strange things have occurred at home. Tigger (my boy) got into a fight. He came home with his bottom jaw/lip thorned and bleeding. At the time, I thought that he had been in a disagreement with a blue jay (that would not be a first). You see, both my cats were declawed when they were 4 years old because they were destroying the furniture, but they still don't understand 7 years later that they cannot defend themselves the way they used to. Also, the food started to disappear in the cats' bowls. I saw Symba and Marylin (cat and dog from the neighbor) coming or trying to come in the house to eat. So, I had moved the food to one of the far bedrooms.

Back to the traveling story. After being away 2 weeks, I decided to call my mom to make sure everything was ok at home. Everything is fine, she said, except that the food kept disappearing and there seems to be a lot of paw prints in the dining room and kitchen. The cats were outdoor. She went back the next day, more prints, less food in the bowls and the canister with the dry food open and food all over the floor and in the other room a raccoon hiding under my bed !!!

Today, I am coming home. The cats are indoors, the raccoons outdoor and the doors are closed!