Crazy Old Cat Lady

I went to the URL for CatLady to see who got my preferred URL name and it's just one useless entry and then I checked out my next preferred URL name of CrazyCatLady (son#1 calls me "Crazy Lady" and the rest of the world calls me "Cat Lady" so I thought a URL was born) and she's a great writer, but I can't find any way to add a comment telling her so. So my URL ended up being CrazyOldCatLady. My web page is http://cvanhorn.homestead.com/

Friday, May 16, 2008

I LOST OPIE

I lost Opie last week.
I had taken him out for another session in his “outdoor home”. I had added a sleeping area above the cat and ‘possum feeding area outside of the bathroom window. I had a plastic bin turned sideways and stuffed with polyester jackets (that he loves to sleep in) that I had perched on 3 other bins to keep him up and out of the way of the bigger animals.
I watched him attentively for about 20 minutes to see how he would handle the new set-up and he seemed to be pretty happy exploring. I decided to sweep the brick patio while I watched him, but after a few minutes, I realized that I needed a dust pan. I ran to get one and got back just in time to see him crawling around the lip of the plastic bin that was one bin below the one that his bed was on. I have no idea how he got there. He went around the narrow lip of the bin to the back side where I could no longer see him. I waited for him to come around the other side, but I heard him fall instead (down 3 bins back into an area that I couldn’t see or even begin to get to because of all the storage boxes in that area). I didn’t hear anything. I didn’t know if he was hurt or worse. It seemed like I should be hearing him if he were walking around.
I called and called and cried and cried. I just knew that he would starve out there alone, if he was even still alive and unhurt, and it was all my fault. I was afraid to start moving boxes because that might cause him to move farther away. After 20 minutes, I moved out a metal shelving unit so that I could look to see the area where he had fallen so I could see if he was dead or unconscious there. I couldn’t see him so I moved the shelving unit back and put a sleep blanket on its bottom shelf with a small bowl of water beside it, hoping he would find them. I ran into the house and fixed him some small pieces of ham and took that out to the bottom shelf and waited patiently, hoping that the ham would draw him out. Then I started to worry that the ham would attract the cat and dog back (they had both come over to see what I was doing in that area and had finally left) so I ran back into the house to fix him some pieces of banana that wouldn’t attract other animals. I took them out there, just in time to see Opie finishing up the ham! I grabbed him up quick. He was not happy.
I took him back into the house to his indoor box and let him finish his ham while I collapsed on the couch.
(Opie's picture was taken on Mothers' Day, 2 days after this frightening event. See
http://crazyoldcatlady.blogspot.com/2008/05/opie-on-mothers-day.html if it's not the next post because it has already been sent to the archives.)
We have now had several more sessions out there- I fixed it so that he couldn’t get to the dangerous area again- but I don’t take my eyes off of him while we’re out there. One exception: the last time we went out, he crawled into his outdoor sleep box and took a nap. I did run into the house for a minute while he was sleeping. In fact, I finally had to wake him up by bringing out more ham.)
I’m afraid to let him go before he shows that he can eat the dry cat food that all of the other ‘possums eat. He only once tried to eat a softened piece and ate only a small bit of that small bit, but at least he is starting to see it as food.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

OPIE ON MOTHERS' DAY MAY 11, 2008


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My husband named him Opie because opossum starts with the letters "OP". We have been baby-sitting him for a month now. I don't want to release him until he can eat softened dry cat food so that I can put some out for him (because I don't think that the other animals will eat that and I know that they will gobble up any turkey or ham that I put outside). Yesterday when I had him outside of the bathroom window where I have constructed a play area for him, he ate half of a softened piece of cat food that I had put in his play area so he is finally getting the idea that it is food (although not food that is as tasty as his favorite dish- ham). I am hoping that if he eats the softened food that he will eventually be able to eat the regular cat food that the other big 'possums eat.