This week we moved from Birchgrove to Rose Bay.
We went from a very run down house with a wonderful view to a lovely house with no view, apart from into the neighbours’ houses and yards.
The street we lived in last week was so narrow there was only parking on one side of the road and even then only one car could go through at a time. The one we’re now in is so wide you can do a u-turn in a single go, no need for three point turns. (Considering we’re in the Eastern Suburbs we may be in the only street where that’s possible.)
So, all in all, we’re finding that life is full of change and that whatever your current situation, there are pluses and minuses.
One of the missions we’ve faced has been to get the resident cat to get on with Sancho, our dog.
You may have heard the adage “Dogs have masters, cats have staff”. Never has a truer word been spoken than in the case of this cat.
Dinner time is fascinating.
Sancho will eat anything he can get his paws on and has been known to get quite narky if anyone approaches him while he’s eating. Given that we’ve been feeding him for over 11 years you’d think he’d work out that we’re not going to steal his food but that message doesn’t seem to have gotten through to his brain-cells. So, when his food is put into his bowl you need to stand clear.
The cat, on the other hand, seems to require company to eat.
When food is put out for her she’ll stand at her bowl meowing (quite loudly and vociferously) until someone comes to keep her company. Once she has an audience she’ll happily settle down for dinner, as long as her audience stays. Try and leave and she’ll get back into howling.
The buildings here are quite close and you can often hear the neighbour’s conversations. I wonder if they think we’re killing the cat, given how she sounds when she doesn’t have her dinner company.
Given that cats and dogs are natural enemies the big challenge for us, has been to get a relative level of calm between Holly (the cat) and Sancho.
Fortunately, Sancho is very laid back and is somewhat bemused by cats – he’s never quite worked out what they are or what to do with them. If they run away he’ll chase them. Thankfully, he’s never actually caught one. However, if they keep still he’ll walk around it trying to work out what it is.
Living in houses with cats has been one of his big challenges with our house-sitting adventures. We’ve lived in a few and he still doesn’t “get” them.
In this case, Holly clearly runs the household and she’s been quite put out by this strange creature who’s invaded her territory. I’m sure she’s thinking the people are bad enough but at least they feed, pet and keep her company and so have their uses but this four-legged thing really is the limit.
However, after a few days of keeping them company, and sharing affection with them both together they do seem to be settling down.
They’re clearly not going to become best mates but they are learning to share the same space so long as there’s either a person in between or at least a metre of room. It’s quite funny to see them negotiate the situation if they should find themselves is a situation with limited room, like a narrow passageway, and they have to get passed each other.
Anyway, they now appear to have reached a position of detente – they’re not happy about each other but are willing to accept each other’s presence.
If only we could do the same thing in the Middle East.