I believe in an ideal world, every indoor cat would have a cat-door leading to an outside area tightly enclosed by a cat-proof fence so the cat could come and go as they please. Of course, this is not an ideal world so we have to make due with what we have. In our case, I try to let the cats outside for a supervised “recess” once or twice a week.
I think being able to run around outside, eat grass and soak up the sun is good for them. I also think there are many dangers outside which is why I won’t let them out unless I have the time to make sure they stay close to the house. It can be difficult to watch them when both cats are out at once but Rose was out there yesterday for a second set of eyes.
They really enjoyed their time in the sun and both were in no hurry to go back inside when we tried to collect them.
We had a great Christmas. We spent it at home with family and friends. Rose’s son, Nick, was here from Massachusetts and my son, Chris, was also here. He lives nearby but because of conflicting work schedules we don’t see each other very often. Chris, as some of you know, was not named after my son but came to us with the name.
Unfortunately Puck, who is not a fan of strangers, spent the day under the bed. Chris celebrated the holiday by greeting everyone who came into the house and by enjoying some outside time.
It started just like our last party with Chris on top of the table we set up for refreshments. When people started to arrive I decided to let Chris outside while I watched him from the patio.
I left the door open so he could come back inside. I really didn’t expect him to do that but after a while of watching him I got distracted and forgot he was outside. When I remembered I started outside to look for him when I saw him lying inside the patio (sorry, no picture of that).
After he went out the first time and after the customary grass-eating ritual, Chris went looking for trouble.
Chris has become less of an adventurer and tends to stay closer to the house now. That is a good thing but I still have to watch him because he will sometimes wander to the side of the property and crawl under the fence if I don’t stop him. This day he was happy to lie just outside the patio and roll around.
After he was tired of playing outside he came in and went from lap to lap, making sure nobody was left out. Here he is with my son.
Chris and Chris
I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas as much as Chris and I enjoyed ours.
I wanted to add a video to my last post but my video software keeps faulting and shutting down. I finally was able to put it together using the software that came with my Canon camera. It’s funny but I did not even know I had it.
This video was taken after I took the photographs and about the time I wanted to get the cats inside but Chris and Puck would have none of it. They were having too much fun and wanted to stay outside and play. If they were kids they would whine a little but eventually listen. Cats don’t listen and need to be chased down, which isn’t easy.
Work was slow last Friday so I had the day off. Of course, when that happens I am not allowed to play all day and usually have a honey-do list that involves cleaning the house. I did have some free time though and decided to let Chris out for some fresh air.
Ahh… Grass eating time.
I didn’t want to let Puck out because he is such a pain to catch and bring back in but after seeing the look of rejection on his face I couldn’t refuse him.
You forgot me again!
What? You’re letting me out? Oh boy!
C’mon Puck, let me show you how to have fun outside.
First, you have to get some sun on your belly.
Then we can build a fort.
I don’t know Chris. I think I just want to go exploring.
I was glad they had a chance to be outside. Puck raced across the yard a few times getting exercise that is difficult to get indoors, although he does do some running around inside. Chris ate some grass, which he likes to do when he is outside. He caught a lizard too, which I did not get a picture of. Both had fun in a safe environment and, as predicted, puck gave me a run for my money when it was time to go inside.
Here are some pictures from our cookout party on Saturday afternoon. As I mentioned in my last post, Stubborn Cat Chris, it was an all day struggle to keep an eye on Chris as he ran out the door every time someone opened it. I let him stay outside as long as I felt like watching him and then I would put him back in until the next time someone came through the door and it started all over again.
Before the party even started Chris would not stay off the table we set up on the patio.
Of course, once out, Chris has to lie in the dirt.
No, wait! That last spot wasn’t dirty enough.
Hello in there. Come on out. I just want to play.
Time to explore.
It looks like Chris failed to read rule #4.
Maybe he read the rule but didn’t care.
What would a cookout be without fish?
Chris finally decides to relax and watch the party. Do you see him under the chair?
When we moved to our current home and Chris was able to go out on the patio again, we thought he would be happy. Unfortunately, it is like that old saying, “Give someone an inch and they will take a mile.” Chris was not happy with his inch. Being partly exposed to the outside just made him want it even more.
Every time one of us came home or left while the cat door was open, we had to figure out how to get through the door without Chris getting out. I use the past tense but it is still true today. Sometimes I would just let him out because it was easier than fighting with him. At first, just like at our last place, Chris would just roll around on the sidewalk, but soon he started making a beeline for the front yard.
Bad Cat Chris in bushes
He did not go far. He just ran around the front yard, investigating every movement. For awhile we thought it was a little cute. We would let him out after listening to him cry for a while, then I would try to catch him after four or five minutes. Of course, this wasn’t easy. He would usually wait until I got close and then bolt away. I would then have to walk across the yard to get him and he would run back. I think this game of “Catch me if you can” was fun for Chris but I got little enjoyment from it.It wasn’t long, however, before he discovered that the outside world had an ample supply of lizards. The first thing he did when he got outside was look for lizards. Sometimes he would catch one as soon as he got out. If he didn’t find one right away, the lizards would hide. It was funny watching him sometimes because he would be searching through the bushes while several lizards hung very still on trees opposite of Chris’s field of vision.
When he did catch one, I would have to get it out of his mouth before he killed it. This usually resulted in some resistance along with some growling. We soon decided that, for the sake of the lizard population, we would try to resist giving in to his begging to go outside.
You can see what a great strategic position he is in when he waits under the cat perch.
Chris is a very smart cat and can easily adapt, so when we stopped letting him out, he changed his strategy. He started laying under the cat perch, especially when he knew someone was leaving. It is the perfect spot because we can’t pick him up from there and we also can’t hold him down without blocking the door from opening.
As usual, we change our strategy, Chris changes his, we change ours to counter and it goes on and on. It is like playing chess with a cat. When he started hiding under the perch, I started opening the door slightly to lure him out. When he went for the opening I would quickly shut the door and grab him.
Chris countered by waiting under the perch. He is too smart to let himself be fooled more than once or twice so he held his ground until he had a clear shot out the door.
My next move was to give the cats treats when someone had to come in or go out. All the cats would come running for treats which was my chance to close the cat door. This actually worked for a while. I think the lure of treats was too great, even for Chris. Eventually though, he stopped falling for it.
Even when it did work, it was not foolproof because he would sometime sneak out the main door when we tried to leave and park himself under the perch. If I wasn’t in a hurry, I would just let him out because catching him outside was easier than getting him out from his little fortress.
Chris soon stopped looking for lizards and started eating grass. I know it is natural for cats to eat grass so I would give him a few minutes before bringing him in.
Even today Chris is still getting outside. On Halloween I was very carefull to open the door just a crack to give candy out but that was all it took. Aren’t cats supposed to be afraid of strangers wearing masks?
Bad Cat Chris 