Our friend and contractor, Tony, arrived right on time at 10am this morning.
Misty was wary of a stranger being in her territory, so she went up to the top-of-the-world platform.
She did some down to kepoh a bit, but Samantha had already taken her basket.
Tony examined this spot where I think the escape route is and guess what? He says it’s impossible! There is absolutely no way she could get out from here.
Wow! That means I’ve got it all wrong. There must be another way.
Luckily I got Tony to come. He’s very patient and he understands animal behaviour.
By then Misty had gone further on the platform. Tony scrutinised the holes in the anti-climb and said, “It must be through these holes.”
What??
But the holes are….fairly small.
If you remember, we had to use this because Bella had a nest in the Catio at that time and we asked the (then contractors) to ensure they used an anti-climb with a hole that’s too small for cats to go through but big enough for birds to fly through. That is the reason they provided this size.
If you also remember, when the Blondies were smaller and the platforms were higher on the walls, the Blondies were actually able to stand on the short platforms and stick the little heads out of the holes, thereby being able to escape. We saw that and caught them just in time, then I asked Tony to come and lower all the platforms.
I still didn’t think Misty could go out, but Tony says yes. Misty, if you have observed, has a very small head but an A-shaped body (she has a tummy). If you look at her tummy, there is no way she can fit through those holes, but if you look at her head….it’s a “yes”.
And we all know that if a cat’s head can go through, the entire body can.
Minnie was showing off. But still not showing us her escape route. So, Tony took a pole and prodded the platform to just force her to do it.
And she did, folks! She really did! She stuck her head out of one hole….(my goodness, it could go out!), and before I could even take a video, with some effort and the platform as a foothole, she was OUT!!
Oh my goodness….
Yes, it’s somewhere there, where I’ve circled in red. It’s because she can use the blue platform as a foothold.
Our escape-artist didn’t go far. She paraded all over on the roof of the catio. Show off!
So Tony had to quickly improvise. He looked around and saw that we had one more unused black tray. So first, he used this to plug the top (ceiling).
Then he used Bunny’s springy bed (which is green netting) to plug the side. I asked if Misty could climb to the side to attempt to go out, but he doubts it because she won’t have a foothold to stand on.
Tony really knows so much about cats and other animals. By the way, this is Tony of Golden Triology who did all the platforms and from whom I bought all our stainless steel cages. I am so, so thankful to him for being so obliging and helpful. He came all the way just to help me.
Look at Gerald! Totally relaxed and without any concern for the “stranger” in his new home.
It took quite long to get it done properly. Husband had gone to work and I was handing things to Tony while Jayden was inside the house.
Meanwhile, Misty was already out and free. Tony said to try and get her in to “test” out his masterpiece.
I tried, but she wouldn’t come in. She was just there in the porch. She actually did step in to eat some kibble, but the moment I tried to close the door, she stepped out.
Raffia string to the rescue!!
But no, she refused to step in.
By then, Tony had inspected everywhere else and we think (the operative words being “we think”) there is no other escape route.
Then as Tony was going home, he shared a lot of information with me about what he knew about this particular reptile. Sadly, our park has so many big trees and all of them are ideal breeding grounds for the reptile. He pointed out all the big trees to me. My goodness…. They can build their nests at the roots, in any hole in the tree trunk or even up on the branches.
Then there are all the water outlets too. Those are also perfect breeding grounds for them. He even pointed out the creepers on our neighbour’s outside wall – those are also breeding grounds.
I was going to get rid of all our flower pots (only three) and he totally agreed. There is also an urn which is part-decoration and part-useful as a water storing receptable. That should go too. It was an ideal hiding place. Tony thought I was using that urn as a fengshui object. Heh…of course not! I don’t do fengshui.
Tony said our garden is bare enough now, as long as we can see the bottom part of the plant, and it’s not bushy, it should be okay. And he said the gravel is grey, so it should be easy to spot any black reptile. But this one that came was grey!! Gosh.
Later, I spoke to my friend who had a very close encounter with a cobra just two weeks ago. I will write about this in a separate post. Her three cats saved her life. And please, please, please…I must plead with you to get the facts right. Cats do not attract cobras. Please do not make that assumption. In fact, Bomba told my friend that snakes are generally afraid of cats because cats are their natural predators. Maybe for the exception of pythons. Those would devour small animals, sadly. Let me write about my friend’s encounter later.
So after Tony left, I was still trying to get Misty into the house. She wouldn’t fall for it but I know sooner or later, she would be hungry.
It took many hours later when Misty sat on the window sill and started mewing.
Aha…
So I pulled Jayden aside, told him to keep very quiet and I opened the window and stepped away.
Come on in, Misty. Come in, please….
I had no idea how I was going to close the window if she came in.
She thought about it and decided, “Ok, I’ll jump in”, and she did! Then I waited until she had walked towards the dining area, and I slowly, very slowly, walked to the window and quietly closed it!!
She’s in, she’s in!!!
Next would be to get her into Bunny’s Place. That would be the next challenge.
I was also worried because if anyone came and I opened the front door, Misty would surely escape. Jia-Wen came to pick up Jayden and I stood at the door to ensure the door was closed fast enough.
After Jayden went back, I did my thing.
I finally got her back into Bunny’s Place!!
Success!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Looking for another way out, madam?
Can she got out from here? I think not. Tony also said no.
But then again, we are all dumber than cats, aren’t we?
Settling down, madam?
Last check just now, Misty was still in Bunny’s Place.
Let’s see how it goes tomorrow.
Phew!! I am exhausted.
The post Misty’s escape route revealed and plugged! appeared first on AnimalCare.
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