Last year I found out he'd been out Cyndi's way, which is a mile from here. A neighbor of hers feeds strays and has a nice place to shelter them, and he recognized Kibble from a photo. I started to try and imagine what would make a cat like him wander around away from people who are willing to feed him, like us and Diane.
I figured he would be motivated by hunger, a need for sleep and a desire to be safe. So, let's say we fed him in the evening. He would go to a corner of our yard to sleep and come out again in the morning for more food. Why ruin a good thing - what would make him go elsewhere? Well, I decided it must be that something would force him to move on whether or not he wanted to. Someone mowing the lawn, maybe - another cat or other animal disturbing his sleep - nobody coming to the door to feed him. That is all it would take for him to move on a little further; I'm sure he knew of a few places where he could get a meal, and quite a few more where he could sleep quietly. That is probably how he ended up way out in Cyndi's area, even though he was often in our neighborhood. The wanderer! And we never would have thought much about it if he hadn't shown up last summer in that sorry state, but now we feel more protective about him.
Today it was actually only in the seventies, and with a much lower dew point - it was wonderful! I bound the armholes on my dress, and now have to figure out the lace.
It's really a deeper shade than this picture - I want to put it at the hem. My inspiration is a dress I pinned, and I have two pictures of it -
Very interesting pockets, but I didn't have enough fabric for anything like that. I pinned it because I love the wide lace at the bottom - two layers of it! But black is easy, dark blue is another matter. I ordered wide dark blue cotton lace from two places, hoping one would match, and decided on the above.
The other problem is, my dress is a-line, unlike this black one which seems like a very roomy shift. If you've got a wide trim, it's not going to look right attached to an a-line. I pinned it on today, and I think if I attach it kind of high up rather than at the edge, it might work. I hope!
I am sure you're right in thinking that something must be making Mr Kibble move on. If only you could figure out what it is that frightens or annoys him! If he has had some kind of trauma then the thing that causes him to move on could be a product of his own illness and not anything that anyone can do anything about.
ReplyDeleteI wish you luck with your dressmaking! I am not a seamstress but if you can attach the lace further up I am sure it will look good.
Clare, I think it's just the usual things that would scare a cat who is largely unsocialized: i.e., loud noises he doesn't understand, being disturbed by other creatures (and maybe feeling threatened by that), or just having to wait too long at somebody's door in hopes for a meal. I don't think it's anything out of the ordinary. But yesterday my brother managed to get much of the lawn mowed while he was near, and he seemed so mellow that he didn't run away. He actually looked domesticated (but we know better!). He is getting used to us, and I believe having a shelter of his own is a great reason for him to stay near.
DeleteThanks for the dressmaking encouragement! :)