My Neighbour Has An Odd Relative

Our adopted cat’s real family has gone on holiday. The owner lady’s brother is in residence to look after the cats while they’re away. Now in case I haven’t explained this before on this blog, our adopted cat – let’s call her ‘Kitty’, to protect her anonymity – is desperate to belong to a one-cat household. So she escapes from her real house at every opportunity and comes to stay with us. She now has:

- own water bowl and food bowl with cute cat paw design (This is actually the second cute cat paw bowl I’ve ever bought her. I left the original one outside for her once with some food in it. That night, I went to bring it in before I went to bed. I didn’t bother to switch on the outside light so I couldn’t see anything; when I picked up the bowl I felt something scuttle up my hand to my wrist. A cockroach! Of course, I screamed and flung it away from me, and it broke on the tiles. A nice story for you).
- snack collection and regular fresh meat treats
- her very own cloth that we spread out for her to sit on when she wants to sit on the sofa or the Man’s best Persian rugs (which she ignores)
- toys – her favourite is The Red Piece of String, which is currently lost
- a throne - her very own chair, with a bundled up towel on it so that she can relax in comfort
- Coming soon: a scratching post (since the Man discovered she had been regularly sneaking under the sofa to scratch the corner of one of his rugs)

She is, of course, the most photographed individual in the household.

Now, by the time Tuesday came around, Kitty had been in round-the-clock residence in our house for about three days, blissfully happy that Real Owner hadn’t been round to take her home. At this point I decided I really should take her to her real house for the night. We don’t have cat toilet facilities so we have to leave a window open for her overnight, and she’s not really supposed to go out at night, so she’d be better off in her house with Real Owner’s brother.

So, we went across the road and rang the doorbell. I knew he was in because through the front door window I could see clearly see the reflection of his head in the hallway mirror. He was watching TV in the living room, but didn’t move on the first ring. So I rang it again. He stood up, slowly, then appeared in the hallway, turned and slowly walked to the kitchen at the back of the house. Now, is that weird, or what? We stood there shivering on the doorstep, Kitty staring through the front door window with her big, astonished eyes. I hope she didn’t understand what was going on because I’d just been reassuring her how much Owner Brother loved her and how happy he’d be to see her. We went home.

I don’t know about you, but if I’m home alone, someone comes to the door and I don’t want to answer them, I sit as still as possible, dim the TV if that’s practical, and pray that they’ll think I’m out and move on. I don’t saunter into the hallway, in full view of the person at the door, and wander through the house, completely ignoring them. In case you’re wondering, yes, the bell did sound, because I heard it clearly.

Also, weird, Owner Brother called me up the next day and introduced himself, and asked after the cats.

Very strange.