More adventures in pet-sitting

Trouble, as usual, was glad to see me, enough so that I started with a lap and cat-stroking, before proceeding to dosing him and making myself some tea.

(Also, the mad chihuahua actually came out and approached me, but only to within ten feet or so, so I didn't have to worry about being nipped (Heather did that, when I tried to hand-feed her a few raisins) or shout "Bad Karma!")

Halfway through a cup of Darjeeling, chocolate-coated cookies, cat, and book all handy, I knocked the mug off the table onto the floor, spilling most of the tea. Fortunately, the mug wasn't even chipped, and the tea spilled only on my water-repellent bag and a newspaper. I swore, got up, wiped things up, and after a minute's thought put the kettle back up, for Scottish breakfast¹ this time.

By the time I'd fed all the animals and watered the plants, Heather--the black-and-white bunny, the more aggressive of the two--had somehow loosened the walls of her cage, and she and Anya were happily wandering around the larger part of the rabbit enclosure together. This was a problem because they do not, in general, play well together; my instructions include that the two rabbits must not be let out of their subcages at the same time. So I chased Heather back into her area, with a mixture of firmness and raisins, and tried to restore the cage.

I succeeded, after much effort and a stage when one of the cage wall segments fell down altogether. Her current area is slightly smaller, and held together with more paper clamps than before, but it'll do, in the absence of either a specific set of cage-rebuilding instructions or a supply of spare bungee cords.

The oddity here is that if I hadn't spilled the tea, I'd probably have been gone before Heather got out, which could have been a real problem. Just to be on the safe side, I sat a bit longer after fixing the rabbit cage.

[1] It tastes like a variant on an Irish breakfast--a blend of strong Indian teas--and claims to be formulated for soft water. That's what we have here, and it works well, though it's unlikely to displace Ceylon breakfast (a Twinings variant on the same theme) in my affections.

More adventures in pet-sitting

Trouble, as usual, was glad to see me, enough so that I started with a lap and cat-stroking, before proceeding to dosing him and making myself some tea.

(Also, the mad chihuahua actually came out and approached me, but only to within ten feet or so, so I didn't have to worry about being nipped (Heather did that, when I tried to hand-feed her a few raisins) or shout "Bad Karma!")

Halfway through a cup of Darjeeling, chocolate-coated cookies, cat, and book all handy, I knocked the mug off the table onto the floor, spilling most of the tea. Fortunately, the mug wasn't even chipped, and the tea spilled only on my water-repellent bag and a newspaper. I swore, got up, wiped things up, and after a minute's thought put the kettle back up, for Scottish breakfast¹ this time.

By the time I'd fed all the animals and watered the plants, Heather--the black-and-white bunny, the more aggressive of the two--had somehow loosened the walls of her cage, and she and Anya were happily wandering around the larger part of the rabbit enclosure together. This was a problem because they do not, in general, play well together; my instructions include that the two rabbits must not be let out of their subcages at the same time. So I chased Heather back into her area, with a mixture of firmness and raisins, and tried to restore the cage.

I succeeded, after much effort and a stage when one of the cage wall segments fell down altogether. Her current area is slightly smaller, and held together with more paper clamps than before, but it'll do, in the absence of either a specific set of cage-rebuilding instructions or a supply of spare bungee cords.

The oddity here is that if I hadn't spilled the tea, I'd probably have been gone before Heather got out, which could have been a real problem. Just to be on the safe side, I sat a bit longer after fixing the rabbit cage.

[1] It tastes like a variant on an Irish breakfast--a blend of strong Indian teas--and claims to be formulated for soft water. That's what we have here, and it works well, though it's unlikely to displace Ceylon breakfast (a Twinings variant on the same theme) in my affections.