New kitty tricks

It appears that Amelia has indeed decided that the basement is the best
place to ride out thunderstorms. We had a small t-storm pass through the
area this morning, just before kitty breakfast. As soon as I put the
breakfast dishes down on the kitchen floor I heard the squeak of the
basement door as Amelia came out.

And Cleo has decided that she wants to investigate more of the house. We
have a couple of storage rooms on the top floor of the house. The first
one (what we call the "outer hidey hole") is about 5 feet by 5 feet and
has a door opening onto the hallway. At night Nancy puts her clothes
for the next day in there so she can get dressed without waking me. The
other is an irregularly shaped space, roughly 10 feet by 20, tucked up
under the eaves of the house. It's accessable through a door from the
outer hidey-hole. We refer to it as the "inner hidey hole".

The last couple of nights shortly after we've gone to bed I've heard
scratching in the hallway. When I have gone to investigate I've found Cleo
trapped in the outer hidey hole. Nancy swears that she has looked
carefully to be sure no kitties were in there with her when she's been in
there going through clothes. This morning she caught of glimpse of kitty
trickery that explained what has been happening.

Cleo came into the outer hidey hole with her. She immediately wiggled
under the door to the inner hidey hole! Our house is kind of old (70 years
or so), and some of the closet doors have a gap of an inch or more at the
bottom. The door to the inner hidey hole has enough of a gap that Cleo can
squirm under in a matter of seconds. Cleo has been going into the outer
HH with Nancy, diving under the door into the inner HH, and getting stuck
there when Nancy leaves and closes the outer HH door.

Nancy has moved some heavy luggage in front of the inner HH door. We don't
want Cleo to get stuck there.

Now I just have to figure out where Tabitha and Sammy go when they
disappear inside the house...

That is why they are the owners and You are YOU. Beginning to get a T storm
here now. Came from your way!! Thanks.
"Daniel Mahoney" wrote in message
news
It appears that Amelia has indeed decided that the basement is the best
place to ride out thunderstorms. We had a small t-storm pass through the
area this morning, just before kitty breakfast. As soon as I put the
breakfast dishes down on the kitchen floor I heard the squeak of the
basement door as Amelia came out.

And Cleo has decided that she wants to investigate more of the house. We
have a couple of storage rooms on the top floor of the house. The first
one (what we call the "outer hidey hole") is about 5 feet by 5 feet and
has a door opening onto the hallway. At night Nancy puts her clothes
for the next day in there so she can get dressed without waking me. The
other is an irregularly shaped space, roughly 10 feet by 20, tucked up
under the eaves of the house. It's accessable through a door from the
outer hidey-hole. We refer to it as the "inner hidey hole".

The last couple of nights shortly after we've gone to bed I've heard
scratching in the hallway. When I have gone to investigate I've found Cleo
trapped in the outer hidey hole. Nancy swears that she has looked
carefully to be sure no kitties were in there with her when she's been in
there going through clothes. This morning she caught of glimpse of kitty
trickery that explained what has been happening.

Cleo came into the outer hidey hole with her. She immediately wiggled
under the door to the inner hidey hole! Our house is kind of old (70 years
or so), and some of the closet doors have a gap of an inch or more at the
bottom. The door to the inner hidey hole has enough of a gap that Cleo can
squirm under in a matter of seconds. Cleo has been going into the outer
HH with Nancy, diving under the door into the inner HH, and getting stuck
there when Nancy leaves and closes the outer HH door.

Nancy has moved some heavy luggage in front of the inner HH door. We don't
want Cleo to get stuck there.

Now I just have to figure out where Tabitha and Sammy go when they
disappear inside the house...

Daniel Mahoney wrote:
It appears that Amelia has indeed decided that the basement is the best
place to ride out thunderstorms. We had a small t-storm pass through the
area this morning, just before kitty breakfast. As soon as I put the
breakfast dishes down on the kitchen floor I heard the squeak of the
basement door as Amelia came out.

Smart cat! (You're in Iowa now, aren't you?) When I was a kid in
Minnesota, any time there was a severe thunderstorm, our whole family
(humans) would head for the basement. Back in those days you didn't get
advance tornado or severe thunderstorm warnings and watches, you just
had to estimate the danger for yourselves. (We spent a lot of stormy
summer nights and evenings alternating between our beds and the basement!)

Smart cat! (You're in Iowa now, aren't you?) When I was a kid in
Minnesota, any time there was a severe thunderstorm, our whole family
(humans) would head for the basement. Back in those days you didn't get
advance tornado or severe thunderstorm warnings and watches, you just
had to estimate the danger for yourselves. (We spent a lot of stormy
summer nights and evenings alternating between our beds and the basement!)

Yep, central Iowa. Amelia is going to be better prepared than anyone
else when a big storm comes through.

Dan

Daniel Mahoney wrote:
It appears that Amelia has indeed decided that the basement is the best
place to ride out thunderstorms. We had a small t-storm pass through the
area this morning, just before kitty breakfast. As soon as I put the
breakfast dishes down on the kitchen floor I heard the squeak of the
basement door as Amelia came out.

My present owners don't mind thunder much, but when I was growing up we
had a cat called Thompson who was our weather prediction cat. About half
an hour before a thunder storm, she would start creeping along the floor
and any family member who saw her would say, 'we're going to get thunder
soon.' Thompson would disappear into the basement, and sure enough, soon
we would hear thunder.

--
Marina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.