Apparently there's a kitty communication network that points them our way when they need help. Last year two more cats started showing up at our doorstep. A female that had been previously trapped and spayed (ear is slightly tipped as is the practice for Trap Neuter Release) and a male with a full set of "kittenmakers". They show up on our front porch one at a time (she's a a bit skittish and afraid of him, he'd walk in our front door if we let him), so we feed them and put a heating pad in a doghouse on the front porch to help them get through the winter months.
As tom cats are prone to do, he's been roaming the neighborhood and brawling, and from the looks of him, probably not winning. We took him to the vet for treatment and that led to a disruption in our normal cat situation. We've been a max capacity for some time, so adding one more even temporarily is a domino effect. The two cats that alternate free roam in our unfinished basement have both had to be locked up while the tom cat is in the other end of the basement locked in a large crate.
We need to get them back to their normal routine, and after the tom's second visit to the vet last Friday (no more kittenmakers), we have two options. Just turn him loose and hope for the best, and know that it also disrupts the peace and quiet the stray female has been enjoying, or expand our capacity and build a 2nd catio for the back deck.
If you know Liz, you'd know that option 2 was the choice, so I'm in process of building another 8x6 footprint catio in my "spare" time.
Now we could have built an exact copy of the one we built in 2019 for a mother/son couple that found us, but we've learned a few things since then.
For one, sometimes when two cats are living together, they get into scuffles. Having a way to separate them inside of the catio is an essential. (solution, add a divider wall down the center with a gate we can open or close if needed to separate.
Two, a 2 foot door is fine for us getting in and out, but when we wanted to add something larger than 2 feet, it meant having to tilt the entire catio upward and sliding the larger item under the frame. (solution, 3 foot doors on the new model).
Three, cutting and stapling hardware cloth is a hassle. We're still using hardware cloth, but I've added a cutting tool since the first catio that should speed the process and lessen the risk of me needing to make a blood sacrifice during assembly.
Weather permitting, the new catio will be completed by this weekend. Shelves on the side walls let the cats exercise and lay in the sun. We custom make outdoor litterboxes using large plastic totes. We'll move a couple of boxes inside for shelter, and Liz will probably order a couple more pressure sensitive heating pads for the homes along with some no-freeze water bowls.
All of this with the cats is a very long way of getting to a point that applies to our blogging.
How I wrote and what I wrote about when we first started blogging has changed considerably over the years. While some of the early posts might work to generate business, most didn't.
Over time, we learned better ways.
We implemented better tools.
We developed a better user experience.
We could have kept doing the same old, same old, or we could improve.
Recognizing what works and what doesn't for our local market was key to finding a better rate of success with our blogging.
If your blogging isn't giving you a return on your time, maybe it's time to stop with the same old same old and seek some improvements.
Bottom line: IF YOU ARE PROVIDING PERTINENT AND UNIQUE REAL ESTATE CONTENT THAT CONSUMERS WANT, YOUR CHANCE OF BLOGGING SUCCESS GROWS!
Don't give consumers content that they can find from 500 other agents in your market.
Until next Tuesday, just ask an Ambassador if you need help!
Bill & Liz aka BLiz
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