Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Seven and the hummingbirds

We were trying to figure out what to do about Seven at the new place. We want her to be able to go outside the back patio to the front, but she doesn't climb fences. We're keeping her bed and food inside the garage because we don't want her stuff to get rained on. So in order to make it possible for her to get to everything, Jake dug a hole under the fence so she can go back and forth. So far it's working really well, with one exception. She likes to use the restroom in the dirt right out side our kitchen door instead of going in the front yard. I have no idea why she does this, but it can get stinky sometimes. Jake gets very irritated when she does this.

Jake went to Petco and bought a $15 bottle of stuff that was supposed to cure her of the problem if you just spray where she wants to go. Jake used the stuff that night and she had used the restroom on that very spot by the next day. Jake tried again and practically emptied the bottle on the area. Within 15 minutes she'd used the restroom in the same spot. So much for that manufactures empty promises! If we'd had the receipt readily available we'd have probably brought it back to the store.

At this point, Jake started talking about closing the hole under the fence for a few days to force her to use the front yard area. I think he mentioned leaving the garage door open so she could still go in there, but I didn't really like that idea. Then I remembered someone saying that cats don't like foil, so I laid a few pieces down over the spot that she was using and voila, one day later she hadn't used that spot as her litter box. When Jake realized that this could work, he went a bit crazy foiling the patio. The pictures below show his handiwork. We'll probably keep it for about a week and then take off foil from a part of the patio to see if she's broken the habit. Anyway, I thought the pictures were kind of funny. Notice that he left the foil off where Seven goes under the fence.


I also got a couple of pictures of the hummingbirds. They are getting big!

3 comments:

Hart's Haven said...

I'm so happy that you are in the house. You are taking great care of the place and it makes me feel really good! Love you both, Mom

Mel said...

That's funny. We tried some stuff that was recommended by Petco called Bitter Apple that was supposed to make Hunter stop chewing on our outdoor furniture (when he was a puppy). He LOVED the taste of it!! He wanted more!!!

The foil: Good Idea, but you are right...it looks a little funny. But hey, it worked and probably cost you a lot less than $15! :)

Wendy said...

that is really funny about the foil. I hope it breaks her habit. also those hummingbirds are so cute. keep the pictures coming.