Downsizing the Family

With my dreams of one day owning my own home, but doing it in stages, I decided to start first with who would find the move most traumatic, and that would be my smallest pets.

My rats, zebra finches and budgies all went to, no doubt, better homes; from the pics I’ve seen, they certainly look happier.

I was worried that Goldie and the other cats would be upset that their ‘cat tv’ was gone, but their reaction surprised me greatly.  Yes, their was dismay in the beginning; NOW what are they going to watch? But then the following happened.

Misty wasn’t phased, she never watched them anyway.

After she got over her dismay, Goldie realised, “Wow!  The cage is gone! I can sit closer to the back window now!” Apparently this was a bigger deal.  The window became the new cat tv.

Flick misses the hugs that she used to love giving the rats, so she’s showing more affection to the dogs now, cuddling into them since the rats aren’t around, and with the furniture (that held the rat cage) now gone, the side door to the crate can now be fully opened.  This is a delight to not just Flick, but to TC as well who, with his solid frame, used to struggle to squeeze through the barricade (which in its past life was one side of a cot, but put up to stop the dogs accessing the cat food/litter in the crate).  This barricade used to be on the front door, but with the side door of the crate now open, the front door can remain closed, hence no more barricade.

TC (pictured), I believe, has benefited most. Yes, he was also initially dismayed that the rats and birds were gone.  Being a prey cat (my one and only killer cat), he was forever plotting how to get to them, but with me having no need to supervise him anymore, it means he doesn’t have to spend all his free time in the garage or backyard, he can actually spend time in the house, and surprisingly, for a big boy, that’s all he’s ever really wanted, to be an indoor cat.

I do miss the rats, I miss watching them eat when I give them scraps, but Cleo, my semi-vegetarian dog is happy, because it means she gets all the vegetable scraps.

I especially miss the zebra finches, their petite chirping I often found calming.  Maybe, one day in the future, when I’m settled into a home of my own and more comfortable with my surrounds, I MAY get zebra finches again, or maybe just a canary.

The budgies I don’t miss.  I adored budgies as a child, but my memory is rose coloured, and I’d forgotten how much budgies can squawk.  I appear to be more prone to migraines as I enter my fifth decade, and the budgies for me were more torture than pleasantries.  They’ve moved now from my oversized bird cage (big enough for a galah) to an outdoor aviary where they share their new home with their old finch mates and a few other budgies.  They must think they’ve died and gone to heaven.

For now especially, I’m pleased to see TC not feeling the need to pace, making the most of his time indoors.  Knowing he won’t get chucked out the next time I get up means he relaxes more, and I actually get to enjoy a relaxed TC who’s not trying to suck up to me hoping that I let him stay inside.

I’m confident, that in the future, during the process of my big life changing event, I’ll also cope better with just my bigger furkids – the two dogs and four cats.  I’m hoping that, although it’ll be traumatic for them, they’ll see it as beneficial when I ultimately move to somewhere rural.  Even if I have to live on land for a couple of years till my home is built.

Suffice to say, an interesting and epic adventure lays ahead of me.

And I welcome the change.