We’re housesitting for a friend this week…actually cat-sitting. Thelma and Louise are two rescues who have found a home in cat paradise.
Our friend has a wonderful old Craftsman cottage in the heart of old Sonoma, Ca., right near a winery. The street in front of the house is busy, but the cats have lots of places to sun and chase and pretend they’re Elsa the lioness, right in their back yard. One climbed a tall tree the first day and jumped off on the trellised roof of the patio. The sun was warm up there.
Typical cats, they don’t come when called. They stare at you like you’re addled. Why would they disturb themselves on your behalf? When two o’clock rolls around they’re at the side door, waiting to be let in. They have a cat door on the other side of the house, just in case you don’t jump up and open the slider for them. And when night falls, they know it’s bedtime and they wait to come inside the warm house.
Two-thirty in the afternoon is their dining time. They sit in front of their empty bowl, patiently waiting for it to be magically filled with something meaty. Their kibble bowl is always full, but my friend reminded me they don’t like to ever see the bottom, so keep it topped off.
When the wet food is put down, they eat out of the same dish, one on each side. When nothing is left, they stroll out the cat door, probably to find a good napping spot.
In the meantime I’m happily planning meals in my friend’s gourmet kitchen. She has every pot and pan available and two drawers in the kitchen full of spices. The appliances are top notch and two freezers are full of homemade goodies that she begged us to eat. Beef bourguignon? Bolognese sauce? Lemon bread with cranberries? Exotic cheeses in the refrigerator? It’s foodie paradise, too.
So the cats and I are happy together, sunning, munching and writing…well, the cats are not doing that, but they supervise by sitting on the top of the couch where they can look over my shoulder when I’m on the laptop.
Too bad this housesitting is for only a week. I’d love to sit out in her garden to do a little sunning or sit on the front porch to watch people stroll by. She must really enjoy her home, but wait…she left it. Where did she go? To Paris, her favorite place in the world.
Everyone to his own taste, I guess.