After much hemming and hawing, indecision and hand-wringing, I broke down and bought a new house. Well, not exactly new -- it does need a bit of fixing up (as all homes do), but it might be a better fit for a certain member of the family -- if and only if she chooses to use it as a refuge from the rains that are going to come sometime, even in drought-stricken SoCal. That's right, you guessed it, the house is for Ninja.
Her behavior of late has been a bit concerning. She's not scratching as she has, her appetite is diminished, and she's molting more than seems necessary. I did call a vet -- well several vets -- and the first thing on their list was we have to catch her. If it were that easy, she'd be back home with her original flock! Of course I also went to Dr. Google to find out potential problems for what might be ailing her. One of the first items on the list is she might be egg bound. Who knew that was even a thing? If that is indeed the case, it's a fairly easy fix. But like all fixes, it requires the patient to actually be available for treatment. So far, no luck. I do confess I've not tried rounding up a posse to chase her down, partly because of COVID and partly because I'm so afraid we'll still not catch her and we'll end up freaking her out so much she will move on to far more dangerous territory.
Now back to the house. I cleaned it out and I'm thinking of taking off the door altogether so it might be more tempting for her (giving her a sense of freedom or escape depending on how she feels at the moment). And though I genuinely feel this will be all for naught as she has very definite opinions on anything that appears to be a prison, we have to give it the old college try. After all, she had a choice of so many yards and neighbors, and decided we were it. We cannot break that trust.
Love it! Good luck luring her in!
ReplyDeleteCross your fingers -- and toes.
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