Someone, or more than one, mentioned about Jass on the balcony. We, that is Phyllis, Kosov and I were incredibly cautious when Jass first went on to the balcony, ready to grab her or pull her back.
She would stick her head under the glass to look at the birdies nesting on the balcony below. Her body could have fitted under the glass. If she stuck her neck out too far, we would just call her name and she would pull her head back in.
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She has shown no inclination to jump on the balcony, though she is an expert jumper, and only rarely sits on my balcony seat. She mostly just sits at floor level and watches. I just sit on a seat and watch, so I get that. Well, she did in warmer weather. She doesn't like the balcony in winter.
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I see it as risk assessment, as you might do with your children. Yes, there is a risk to them if you let them out on their own, but I must say, young children who used to be let out on their own to learn the ways of the world, are now so mollycoddled and supervised, I doubt it does them good.
Segueing, Neighbour HH is so stressed about her 23 year old granddaughter staying in her apartment while HH is in New Zealand, her son had to bring HH back to earth. 'Mum, she has travelled all over Europe, stayed with strangers, and had a wonderful time. She will manage without Nonna being there'. No, HH is not Italian and it's a long story why she is called Nonna, which I forget.
Nevertheless, I will let the granddaughter into the building and show her where the key and fob is hidden in HH's apartment, as I have access to HH's apartment. For id purposes, HH sent me a photo of her granddaughter, who I think is 23 and very attractive. There are already some written instructions pinned up in HH's apartment for her granddaughter. Lordy, HH is more of a control freak than I am.
In other news, I did not know Australian mudlarks swoop people, and I was swooped. Apparently they go for your eyes, but in this case one just bumped on my cap twice. I never saw the bird. I've been swooped by wattle birds who don't make contact, with just making a clicking kind of sound as you feal the flutter of their wings. I've not been swooped by the worst, Australian magpies, that are very different to magpies elsewhere in the world. My horror is encountering a drop bear, but as an inner suburban dweller, I am safe. It's just when I leave the city environs that I'm at risk. You just at times have to take your chances.
Every few days we give Jass a wet meal, that is tinned food. She doesn't really like it but we persist and she eats some of it. But oh my, aren't the ingredients such wankery, bought by Phyllis at $4 a tin. Jass, did not eat the long grain rice, and whatever else she left in her bowl was probably spinach, spinach being part of normal cat's diet. No?
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Andrew are you sure the bird wasn’t the Australian native, the noisy miner? They look like an Indian miner, same size, but their feathers are grey and beak is yellow. I’ve been swooped by these and on the side of the head, very territorial. Marie, Cheltenham
ReplyDeleteI didn't see what swooped me but as mudlarks were around, I assume those. I didn't see any noisy miners.
DeleteI have a pathological fear of heights ,:a blog that worried me
ReplyDeleteThe ingredients list is interesting. lol Our cats only eat Purina Pro Plan dry and wet foods these days. ~nods~ Meanwhile, this reminded me of the time my cat Luna led me to start reading ingredients lists. Her vet told me what should and should not be in quality cat food. So I paid closer attention to my sweet kitty's diet before our own.
ReplyDeleteDarla, Purina dry food is what Jass likes.
DeleteI too am afraid of heights. But andrew...$4 a tin for catfood???!! That is crazy expensive. Jass is one very pampered cat!
ReplyDeleteMudlarks/magpie larks - I grew up knowing them as peewits but pronounced peewee. I like them.
ReplyDeleteIn urban gardens with lawns they feed on the ground and part of their routine before getting down to business is to conduct a noisy preemptive attack. I'm sure it's possible that they would make contact with people but I've mostly witnessed their agression to cat and dogs. We had a very bold one in our yard a few years ago which would walk right up to us, but sadly (for us) it seems to have moved on.
Magpies I can handle, at least psychologically. Once you know about a specific bird you only need to make a slight deviation to get them off your case, though obviously there is the risk of a first encounter.
I'm more scared of butcher birds because of their penchant for swooping in from the side.
I've only ever thought of wattle birds as beak-clackers rather than blood-drawers.
Correct about wattle birds. I once had a butcher bird on the balcony railing and their beaks are terrifying. We don't seem to have many here. As I didn't see what hit my cap, I really don't know what they were.
DeleteMy cats got a lot of canned tuna supplemented with cat kibble. Tuna was cheap then. Boy cats were fussier than girl cats and needed more moisture in their food.
ReplyDeleteYou could always leash Jass on the balcony. If you start them young on a leash they adapt quickly.
XO
WWW
I never bought Fancy Feast for either of my cats after that one time when they flatly refused to eat it. it was on special so I bought one can just to see if they liked it. Angel sniffed and walked away from it and years later Lola gave it one or two licks and then left it. I stuck with the Felix pouches, 12 to a box and not exactly cheap but they loved it and both cats were healthy with shiny coats.
ReplyDeleteHad to laugh at HH worrying about a 23 years old seasoned traveller.
Just to clarify, NOT the same can years apart. fresh can, same brand.
DeleteThat's a fancy looking name for cat food, Andrew. Cat's like to eat grass when they want or need to eat it.
ReplyDeleteI'm hopeful that HH will settle about her granddaughter staying. When she's not used to it, it must be daunting.
Jass has only ever sniffed the cat grass I bought for her.
DeleteWell, it's true there's a certain amount of risk-taking involved in all of our lives, I suppose! I've never heard of a "drop bear" but I can imagine what that means.
ReplyDeleteJass on the balcony sounds pretty safe as long as she doesn't jump up on the railing. That's where I'd draw the line! Cats are nimble but they do occasionally fall. She seems fine on the floor -- I doubt she'd try to go under the partition when there's nothing on the other side to support her.
That cat food is obviously meant to sound good to humans, not cats!
A friend's cat fell off a balcony railing from the first floor and was fine. One recently fell eight stories and survived and will make a full recovery.
DeleteFussy Jass!
ReplyDeleteCats are generally adept and well-balanced. Years ago, one of our cats fell off our bedroom outer windowsill and broke her cruciate ligament.
A footballer injury. That's a badge of pride to wear.
DeleteI'm also deathly scared of heights. If Jass was mine, she wouldn't be allowed out and that's not to say she shouldn't be, just that i wouldn't cope.
ReplyDeleteDrop bears, drop kicks, attack birds.We have it all here 😝
The cat has good taste.
ReplyDeleteWhen we leave town we get a pet-sitter and often use the same lady. One time she couldn't do it and recommended a friend who did a nice job, but I was still leery of a stranger in our house.
ReplyDeleteI would probably be nervous for myself on that balcony, Andrew.
ReplyDeleteI'm scared of heights so I probably wouldn't go anywhere near the edge, it would make my stomach flip flop. I wonder if your birds there are like our magpies, they do the same and can be quite vicious, have a nice week.
ReplyDeleteJass knows what she wants.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of people falling off of balconies, but never cats.
ReplyDeleteI'd like a seasoned traveller to stay here a couple months while I lay out on a lakeshore somewhere and tent camp across the state, lake hopping. Sounds dreamy.
ReplyDeleteNever let our cats outside on balcony, I couldn't deal with the stress. Always heard stories in our building of cats going over the edge.
ReplyDeleteIt was and still is stressful but she seems to get heights.
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