can't we all get along?

On Tuesday, Theo had his First Visit to the Vet. He weighs not quite five pounds. Dr. Randy came in to see him. He examined Theo from tip to toe. He played with Theo. He aggravated Theo. He tried to get Theo to stop purring for just two seconds so that he could listen to Theo's heart. He told me what a fine fine cat I have and that it's lucky I saw him first. Apparently, Dr. Randy has a kitty, CB, who is very much like Theo, and of whom Dr. Randy is quite fond.

Then, out in the waiting room, I put Theo in his carrier on top of the counter so that I could pay the bill. While I wasn't looking, Matt (the fabulous vet tech) sneaked over and scooped Theo up and held him for a while; then Kris (the charming receptionist) did the same. All in all, Theo was a hit.

Back at the ranch yesterday morning, Robert and I had play time with the kitties, then changed lobst-er- I mean cats. I finished up with Theo, walked away, then turned around in time to see him making a covering motion on Robert's bed. Intrigued, I walked back to find a puddle on the bed. Argh! We had forgotten to remind him to facilitate before all that play.

So Theo at least got to visit his box. We got paper towels and rags, and stripped the bed, and Robert ran the quilt downstairs. We were both downstairs at the tail end of our commotion when we heard that distinctive "thundering herd of elephants" sound.

When we eventually went upstairs to investigate, we realized that Koa was on the wrong side of the barrier. Mind you, the barrier came up to my chin, and she's not a large cat. Theo was in hiding (he's so young that when he hides and a person comes by, he helpfully meows to let us know where he is). Koa was just hanging out.

While we were trying to convince Koa to go back to her usual side, we brought Theo over to Koa's side. He was absolutely terrified and tried to jump over the divider. OK, so he can jump pretty high too. Finally, we got him into the bathroom with the door closed, escorted Koa back to her apartment, and closed the door, and then let Theo out into his space.

Koa spent the day in her rooms (I'm sure she was fine), and Theo in his. Then last night, Robert built a taller barrier. Koa seems to know she can't get over this one, at least I hope she knows that. And we're creating narrow vertical slits so that the humans can see through. I've labeled the peephole "Junior construction supervisor".

And of course, the wall is named for Rodney King.