Finding Happy in 365 Days: Day 204: "Country House" Cat

Sunday, July 22

Day 204: "Country House" Cat

After a long car ride yesterday, stuck inside of her cat carrier, Pina officially became a "country house" cat. Everything was very exciting upon our arrival to Tjörn. There were lots of new smells and nooks and crannies to explore, with two additional "guest rooms" than we have at our apartment in the big city and all filled with strange and wonderful furniture. But best of all were the floor to ceiling windows that look out into the back yard. It didn't take her long to discover those. She walked around on "korta ben," or short legs, for just a short period of time before she realized that this was her house too. After that she wandered around tall, like she owned the joint.

She didn't even wake us up once last night. I'm not sure where she was during the night but when I woke up at a quarter to five a.m. and made my way to the bathroom, I found her lying on the floor in front of the long windows, completely enthralled in the rustling leaves and flowers outdoors. It melted my heart to see her enjoying her vacation surroundings so much.

I knew she would love it here but I was still a bit nervous beforehand in anticipation of how it would go. This morning I put her harness and leash on her and opened the back door so she could go outside an explore. At first she merely laid in the doorway and sniffed the air, with her head sticking out into the yard. Finally she took a step out with one front paw, then the other until eventually she was standing on all four paws outside. She started sniffing her way slowly, and on "korta ben," around to the back corner of the house before something spooked her and she went running back into the safety of the house. She did this several times before she finally decided it was nap time and went back into the house for good. It was a very exciting morning and she is now melted into the sofa, sleeping soundly and plum tuckered out.