Friday, December 11, 2015

The Cat Behind The Curtain

The stucco facade of our building is being repaired and painted. Over the past two months, the scaffolding has been making its way around the building. It's finally almost to our corner.

REPAIRS MORE THAN A MONTH AGO.

The contractors use gauzy netting to keep debris from flying onto the pavement. While they were working the other morning, a big wind (one of San Geraldo's ciclónicos) came up from the east whipping the netting in front of our terrace and down to the street below.

Dudo and Moose were on the terrace at the time. They made a beeline for the back bedroom. Dudo hid in the closet. The netting was quickly retrieved and has since been tied off near the start of our terrace.

Moose recovered quickly and didn't even seem to be aware of the mass of netting. However, for the first 24 hours, Dudo would only slither out of the bedroom to use the litter box. He then began to spend his time behind the shower curtain in my bathroom.

He's doing much better, even sitting atop his high perch in the living room while we watch TV during lunch. We close the vertical blinds when we watch TV to cut down on the glare. Out of sight, out of mind, I suppose. He still gets just a little unhinged when the blinds are re-opened.

I've tried to reason with Dudo. I told him to take a lesson from Moose, who was not at all frightened.

Dudo was indignant. "Big deal! We all know that cat is not the sharpest tack in the box."

(OK, I made up Dudo's response. But that's what he would say if he could.)

DUDO'S VIEW TODAY WHILE WE WATCHED TV.
DUDO'S VIEW TODAY AFTER THE SHOW WAS OVER.

Dudo's reaction to today's after-show view...

21 comments:

  1. I'm with Dudo. When we went through hurricanes in Miami, I was often found in a closet.

    ReplyDelete
  2. We know Dudo has a looooong memory as evidenced from his patient wait for the swallow to return to the terrace. That netting could come for him ANY TIME NOW. He is wise to take precautions and will be vindicated when the work starts at your corner.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wilma:
      He's settled down. He was back out this morning monitoring the drain hole!

      Delete
  3. Having twice had building rubble fall on me, the netting is not always so effective. It will be nice to have a fresh look when the project is completed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Andrew:
      I hadn't been all that confident in the netting in the first place. Now I'm sure.

      Delete
  4. Guess we know where the term Scaredy Cat comes from.... but I suspect the real trauma will come when the workers get to your area :-(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sharon:
      That was the original name of this post! Can't wait for the scaffolding to get to our side!

      Delete
  5. Yin and Yang make the world go round.
    Dudo may need therapy after all is completed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jim:
      They BOTH already need therapy. Moose wants company every time he goes for a bite to eat (and he's very vocal about it). Dudo gets on edge if a towel is moved.

      Delete
  6. That sounds exactly like what Dudo would have said.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stephen:
      I'm constantly putting words in his mouth.

      Delete
  7. Poor Dudo; I'm sure my response would have been somewhat saltier than his.

    Oh who am I kidding? I'd be on the balcony with my eyes on the tools...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jacqueline:
      Sadly, there are no tools of interest.

      Delete
  8. With pussycats anything new that's small needs investigating, but if it's different and big then it's just scary.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Raybeard:
      Dudo gets concerned if a towel is moved. But, he's settled down about the netting. Just wait until they move the scaffolding!

      Delete
  9. anne marie in philly:
    And Dudo notices every tiny change. Moose is mostly oblivious.

    ReplyDelete
  10. after all it is in their job description.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Spo:
      They say, "Job? Job? Who said anything about a job?!?"

      Delete
  11. Poor Dudo! Tell him horses freak out at tarps, too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Knatolee:
      Dudo freaks if anything is moved to a new location in the house. Jerry threw a towel on the floor one day (he tends to do that) and Dudo stalked it for 15 minutes. He's over the netting. I can't wait to see what he does when the work moves around to us.

      Delete

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