Cat Tales #22 Cat On A Kitchen Roof

Jessie from No3

Last year we had Will Fixit build an arch or pergola over the back gate to support a honeysuckle I want to grow over it and onto the kitchen roof.  The recent fine weather has encouraged us to leave the bathroom and bedroom windows open to ventilate and sweeten the house.  Felix sometimes climbs the garden fence between us and next door, leaps across onto the top of the back bay window and scrambles up and through the bedroom window (given some encouragement).                                                         As mentioned previously (Cat Tale #11 Shifting Jessie) Felix hates Jessiecat from No3, and all our and our neighbours’ days are punctuated with regular discordant duets as they discuss their differences.  It seldom gets any further than handbags and Christmas tree tails.           Teddy bullies each of them depending on who is nearest. 

Coming upstairs yesterday evening I glanced towards the bathroom and was surprised to see Felix sitting in the window.  Not on the windowsill but literally perched on the window pane with the open part above him.  I called Thunderthighs down from the loft to witness this phenomenon and he went to ‘rescue’ him.  

Curious to find out what had been going on I looked out of the back bedroom window and saw Jessiecat sitting on the kitchen roof.  I couldn’t imagine her following Felix up the fence.  Then I realised they must have got up there via the pergola.  

What to do to get her down?    

Persuading or letting her in the house would have caused havoc.  

I had images of knocking on No3’s door and saying “I’m afraid your cat is on our kitchen roof.” 

By this time Felix was safely stashed away in the loft and Thunderthighs was out on the drive trying to persuade herself to come down; with Teddy watching in a vaguely disinterested manner.   

The leap from the kitchen roof down onto our rubbish bin was too deep.  

 It’s only about eighteen inches from the roof to the top of the pergola, but the beams are less than half an inch wide; far too narrow for confident landing. 

The lid of next door’s recycling bin has vanished and been replaced with the top of a large plastic storage bin.   

Thunderthighs got it and (being 6ft 3+) slipped it easily onto the top of the pergola; giving her a large firm landing place.   

He then wheeled our garden recycling bin down to the gatepost and she took the next jump down onto that and thence to the ground. 

 

I was very proud of his ingenuity, but I do hope it’s not going to be a regular event.