October 2002
Finally,
16 October and I have moved in! It is tipping with rain, the furniture lorry
takes up the whole of the Lokeway and the driver has to scale next doors garden
wall to get from the cab to the back! Still, it is only 10.30am so I will have
the rest of the day to get straight, ha ha.
Don't
let anyone tell you moving house is easy, I have gone from a fairly large 3
bedroom Victorian house and garden to a typically small 2 bedroom Norfolk cottage.
Needless to say, 3 into 2 doesn't go! Anyway, that aside the cats are back tomorrow
after 7 weeks away in what I expect they feel was prison ,boy have I
missed them. 
I have had a couple of phone calls from the cattery. The first one came after 2 weeks to the day and went along these lines, " It appears your cats have a few flea dirts, would it be possible for you to post some flea killer to us?" Not a problem I said, how are they? "Settling in quite well, isn't Runcie adorable and Thomas, always cuddling up to her. Buster is not as nervous as he has been and Georgie, well, she has at least stopped spitting at us as we approach!"
The next call came about 3 weeks later. " We have just about run out of diet food for Runcie could you order some from the local Vet and we will collect it?". Again, no problem, again, how are they? "All are doing well, Georgie is still not friendly but we did manage to get some flea killer on her neck, just!"
So the homecoming day has arrived. 4 very vocal cats are delivered safe and sound to the cottage. On release, Runcie, Thomas and Buster start to timidly explore the immediate vicinity, Georgie? she makes a dash for the chimney and attempts to escape. She is stopped and a bookcase place strategically in front of the fireplace. Now they all want to be picked up and cuddled including Buster! Having had lots of fuss they now look for food, it is 11am and they had no breakfast. Buster eats, during the course of the next 5 hours 6 complete sachets of Felix, I don't think he has been fed all week let alone just missed breakfast.
Runcie got her first taste of country life today. Sitting minding her own business on the bedroom window ledge she suddenly started to wag her tail quite vigorously and then started to chatter very loudly. I looked out to see what she was complaining about and there, on the flat roof of the kitchen extension was........................a pheasant! Not satisfied with wandering over the roof it came over to the window and much to Runcies horror, peered in straight and Runcie, I swear she nearly had kittens.
We have been in 2 weeks now and today I let them out for the first time. At the back of the cottage is a small gravelled courtyard area that backs on to another garden, this bit of the neighbours garden is very overgrown, a haven for cats, except Runcie that is. She went out of the back door and turned right, walked past the back of the next door neighbours house turned right, along the side of the house, turned right along the front of the house, turned left and went to the front gate.
Once out in the Lokeway she found if she turned right again she met me at the front of the cottage, she did this numerous times, good game she thought! The others gingerly explored the back. Runcie then introduced herself to the neighbours on both sides. One set haven't moved in yet, they are working on clearing the garden and renovating the cottage, even so, Runcie invited herself into the house and had a look around. Then went to the other side and introduced herself to the family there and promptly went upstairs. This is the eldest and obviously the most confident of the 4 albeit she hardly went out of the house in Essex and even then it was just into the garden. New lease of life me thinks!