Thursday, 14 May 2020
Allan continued with the Catio, while I actually did some work at our jobs on our block.
In Catioland, Allan worked around some baby spiders.
Fortunately, he is not an arachnophobe around spiders this size.
Meanwhile, I weeded at the J Crew Cottage and cut back the Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ so that it won’t flop.
The roses in the back garden have only traces left of the thrip infestation, thanks to weekly spraying with an organic insecticide …which I would prefer not to do.
Above is Zepherine Drouhin, new last year, a good climbing rose with no thorns.
The J’s lawn needed mowing. My back was still sore from when it went sproiiing yesterday, so Allan took twenty minutes away from the Catio to mow.
I went across the street to Norwoods and weeded there.
Their lawn can wait a bit. I was pleased that the privets had come back from my hard prune last year.
They will now be more dense and shapely.
Back home, I admire Allan’s Catio progress. He had the wire sides up and was putting on the wire roof.
Then, in his shop, he was building a door.
He hung the door at the end of the day almost in the dark, and I was wishing I had mowed that lawn because he could really have used that twenty minutes.
Note that he cleverly used the barrel hoops to decorate the door, which ties in to the way I used them on the edges of the garden beds (an idea I swiped from Riz Reyes).
Where the Azara microphylla grows through the top of the Catio, Allan inserted bamboo canes for a roof in the almost dark and secured them with nailed strips of wood. I am not sure it would be kitten proof, but it should be Skooter proof.
We tested it overnight and it was a success. It includes the front porch, because at the top of the steps, an old shower door slides across to enclose the porch, and a cat door goes between the porch and the Catio.
Skooter complained, and gave us significant looks, and sat on a shelf outside staring mournfully at the cage he was in, but he did not spray in the house and he did not meow all night. I am still anxious to get it painted so that it blends in.
Success! Oh, those orange cats can be a handful. I have one of my own, and on a pest scale of one to ten, I would rate him as an eleven. Anyway… the doors look splendid, and Skooter is one lucky cat.
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I do think orange cats have big personalities.
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I laughed when I read that. Yes, that’s one way of putting it. 😉
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I love the Catio doors. They’re very cool. I’m sure Scooter will adjust. You & Allan are both great cat parents!
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Nice finishing touches on the catio door. Compliments to the team!
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Thank you!
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Glad to hear the catio is a success!
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Nice work on the catio! Love the hoops.
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Thanks! Allan’s genius idea.
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The door is very clever. I am glad that the catio works well.
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