MaChatte, like all my other lifetime of cats,  has been an indoor-only cat.  But this cat wants to go out more than any cat I’ve ever had.  She races from one window to another hoping to catch one more glimpse of the squirrel, bird, or rabbit she was watching from the window before.  My other cats looked out casually, somewhat interested, but this cat is obsessed with what’s going on outside.

Sooo, I decided it was time to take this one outside for some visits and to see what it looks like and smells like out there.  I got her in July 2 years ago, when she was 10 weeks old, and had spent part of her time before I got her outside, where she was born and lived for 10 weeks.  Maybe she remembers, and really misses it…………

So off I went to PetSmart, and found a very nice and sturdy harness.  Strong nylon, well put together, and I tested it by pulling and tugging at the places it was joined and also the snap.  I live along a main in-town street, with a woods behind my house. And I’ve seen stray cats hit on my street, cos they go whizzing by here.  So between the street and the woods, I need to know I can trust this piece of equipment, trusting my dear little friend’s life to it.

We put the harness on with some resistance, and left it on for about an hour in the house so she could get used to it.  I adjusted the sliding adjustments on it too, to makes sure it was tight enough so she couldn’t slip out of it.  She didn’t make much effort to get it off once it was on.

Then we put on the leash and went on the back porch.  She looked around like someone who had just landed in an alien land.  It’s a big world out there when you’re 6″ tall and weigh 9 lbs, and everything out there is BIG.  Big trees, big plants, big sounds that sound different than they do from inside.

But she decided to step off the porch.  Then the adventure began.  There are pots on the back patio that need to be investigated, around and between.

Chip monk holes to stick your nose in! With mom hoping the chip monk doesn’t stick his nose out at the same time.

After such an adventure, it’s nice to just lay down and take a rest……….

Knowing she is now liable to get fleas and ticks, I knew I needed to get one of the new treatments that you put on the nape of their neck and it works for a month.  I’m 62 years old and there is an old company called Hartz Mountain that’s been trusted all my life time.  So when I went to the store, I saw that their treatment was much cheaper, and only had 3 months’ worth, compared to 5 months’ worth of the treatment I see advertised on tv.  I don’t need 5 months’ worth, cos it will be cold before that, and I trust the name Hartz Mountain, and that’s what I bought.

I put the treatment on her, and it was oily and there seemed to be a lot of it.  She didn’t seem to care, but 24 hours later it was still oily and matted on her fur.  That didn’t seem right.  So then I called my vet and asked about whether they recommend Hartz Mountain.  She said they do not, that some Hartz Mountain products can have toxic effects on pets.  She suggested that I bathe MaChatte, and wait about a week, and then apply one  of the well known brands advertised on tv, and which my vet sells, one dose at a time, so you can get just the amount you need.

I have never bathed a cat before, in my life!  It’s an experience that I’m sure she doesn’t want to repeat, and I don’t either. But I got the oily stuff off her fur, stuff that could have made her sick.  And she walked around wet for a while, looking insulted.

I’m not here to be-labor the Hartz Mountain story.  But if you Google “Hartz kills”……you can read what a lot of other people have written about it.

MaChatte reminds you to stop and smell the roses, errr, rather, marigolds!