9.02.2015

City Cats Go Rural...

It is exactly a year now since I moved from Toronto, the city I had lived in all my life and fourth largest in North America, to Cobourg; town of 18,000 people. As you can see not one word has been written here in 2015 and honestly I almost forgot how to put up a post but I wanted any remaining blogging friends that I have to know I am alive and well and living the country life.

the house and family in caricature

Nine months after my fiftieth birthday my husband and I pulled up stakes and moved ourselves along with our beloved five cats and dog to Northumberland County. It was a somewhat unexpected change, we had talked about leaving the city at a time in the future, maybe ten or fifteen years from now but then we found ourselves quite by accident in Cobourg and were charmed by the town...three days later we bought this house!

the actual house

Our transition here has been seamless and surprisingly easy. However, the day we moved the boys out was not seamless and easy it was stressful and difficult. They had been staying safely at my mum's house during the big part of the move. The day we picked them up was extremely hot and humid and the air conditioning in Robert's SUV had just broken that morning. So if you can imagine five tense and overheated cats in carriers all panting, meowing, and (uncharacteristically) growling for an hour, it was without a doubt the most stressful component of the entire move.

let us out!!!

Upon arrival, I took them immediately up to our bedroom, put a litter box in our ensuite (temporarily), opened all the closet doors and released them from their carriers. They bolted or slunk under the bed and into the closets, I stayed for a little while talking calmly to them but eventually left when nobody seemed to be listening to me.  I said to my husband "they are shaken, I'm thinking this will be a long transition!" Then about half an hour later I noticed their little faces started appearing at the door.  No longer frightened but indignant they had been locked in.






I was amazed and even considered making them stay in the bedroom for a while but once they were no longer hiding and sitting at the door it seemed a silly idea.  So I let them out to explore the house as they liked. It took them all of a day to acclimate and as you can see from the photos, they have been relaxed and happy here ever since. The dog of course adapts anywhere but as we all know cats can be a little trickier, it was a huge relief for us that the boys did so well in such a short time!

Rio at the beach at the bottom of our street
 Well there you have it folks, a little update on my furry family....hopefully better late than never :-)
 

30 comments:

Summer at sparklecat.com said...

I'm glad everybody settled in so quickly!

Random Felines said...

a great update - what a lovely house!!

da tabbies o trout towne said...

guys....conga ratz on yur new home; its awesum !!! ...we hope ya make lotz oh friendz & manee more happee memoreez.....all de best two everee one !! ♥♥♥♥♥

meowmeowmans said...

Thank you for the update, Cat! So happy to hear you're all loving your new home! It sounds like such a wonderful place. :)

weaverpat said...

Welcome back!
I have been wondering about you and hoping that you and the furry ones are OK.
What a lovely house! Lots of windows for the kitties to enjoy watching the birds. So glad they adapted well after the grueling trip.
Kitties who are well loved seem to be able to accept change more easily.

ANGEL ABBYGRACE said...

So glad you updated. What a terrific place to live, hope you are enjoying it.

Memories of Eric and Flynn said...

Lovely to hear from you. I am glad the move went well and everyone settled in quickly. The house looks lovely.

pilch92 said...

Your kitties look very happy. I love the caricature. :)

The Island Cats said...

We're so glad you're doing well...and everybuddy has adjusted to the move. :)

Hannah and Lucy said...

How lovely to hear from you Cat and Cats! Your house looks great and we're glad all your cats settled in quickly.
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx

Mr Puddy said...

Your house looks absolutely PAWSOME !!!
so happy for you all :)
xoxo

My Mind's Eye said...

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY CATS......THE FAB 5 ARE BACK...AND RIO OUR BUDDY CAT!! WE HAVE MISSED YOU A TON. WHAT AN EXCITING
TIME YOU HAVE HAD. CONGRATS ON A SUCCESSFUL MOVE INTO YOUR BEAUTIFUL HOME.
I KNOW YOU WILL ALL LOVE EASIER PACE OF COUNTRY LIVING.
GIVE THE FAB FIVE AND RIO A HUG AND TELL THE TO GIVE YOU LOTS OF LICKS AND HUGS FROM MADI AND CECILIA

Marilia said...

Happy Thursday!

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

Huge Concatulations on your move!!
I LOVE your house! It is full of so much character and charm.
I am happy that after an initial bumpy time that the cats have all adjusted, they did remarkably well!
Enjoy your new home!
catchatwithcarenandcody

Connie - Tails from the Foster Kittens said...

We moved a handful of years ago and I too was surprised how easy the move was. You keep hearing horror stories, or you imagine it will go very badly, but I think if you keep in mind that they will be stressed and provide comfort items, they take to it fairly well.

Nice to see everyone is doing well. hope it isn't another year before you post again :)

looloo said...

Hi, Cat,

So happy to read you again! And that everything is ok, for you and your family.

Hugs,
looloo

Tamago said...

It's wonderful to see your update and know everything is well with you all.
Your new home looks beautiful. Glad your boys got settled rather quickly. They all look relaxed and happy :-)

Alex aus dem Gwundergarten said...

So nice to read from you again! Oh that must have been a stressful experience for you as well as for the boys. I hope you look as relaxed now as your cats *smile*. Wish you luck, love and happiness in your new home.
Take care
Alex

Tama-Chan, Benny, Vidock, Violette, Ollie, Heloise, Momo, Ryu said...

We're so glad the cats decided they liked their new house immediately!#1 says she has been through Cobourg several times, even overnighted there once!

Purrs,
The Chans

Maggie from Stillness at Cherith said...

So lovely to hear from you!
The house looks beautiful. So good to hear
you felines adjusted so quickly =)

Kathy said...

So glad to see you on the net again! I was just checking old blogs and there you were! You could never tell the boys went through such a "harrowing experience" from these pictures! All relaxed and enjoying the new place!

Must be a switch going from "city mouse" to "country mouse"! :)

Enjoy your new lovely home!
Hugs,
Kathy

Unknown said...

Beautiful house. I hope you will enjoy the new life here. The cats seem happy in the new place.

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Unknown said...

haha. They are all adorable and cute. I miss my cat, Mimi. Great home! Looking forward to see these adorable. Stay beautiful!

xoxo, Marie@ Follyfoot Cattery

Alastriona, The Cats and Dogs said...

The house looks lovely, so glad the cats approve of it.

We came by to wish Jimmy a Happy Gotcha Day.

Jans Funny Farm said...

We saw on the CB yesterday was Jimmy's Gotcha Day and stopped by. How neat to find you moved to such a lovely house and everyone has adjusted to the new life. Enjoy!

Clooney said...

We have been meaning to stop by and say Congratulations on your new home, it looks and sounds lovely! So glad all the kitties adjusted so well, so quickly. So glad all is well with everyone. Tiri sends lots of love to Archie...

Bella said...

How are you all? I hope the new year is being good to you all. An update would be nice!

Andrea and the Celestial Kitties said...

Just wanted to say Happy Gotcha day Archie and Casper!

Alastriona, The Cats and Dogs said...

Happy Gotcha Day Archie and Casper!!!!!

Hope everyone is well. <3 ~ATCAD

Cat Tree UK (http://cattree.uk) said...

Amazing house! Very jealous Jon from (http://cattree.uk)