Keeping Our Fingers Crossed

Fetcher has asserted his place as an outside cat, despite the threat of the foxes, skunks, and mountain lions that prowl our neighborhood after dark.  

After a month as an indoor cat he let us know in the various unpleasant ways that cats have that he was getting mighty ticked about his confinement.  It was time to put him in his harness and leash, show him the cat door, and take him for a walk. 

Almost immediately he seized the chance to sharpen his claws.  Good kitty!

It seemed like he was reasonably content even though he was on a leash. 

We took Fetcher in for the night but we must have left the cat door set to "open" because he got out and was walking on the deck railing this morning just as free as could be.  When Ben opened up the door, he trotted right in and stayed in for a while.  Later, when he meowed to get out, I let him out and he spent the day happily soaking up the sun and poking around the yard.    

Paul is quite nervous that something will happen to his cat and is mad that we didn't make Fetcher stay on leash.  But Ben and I have always been more realistic about trying to control a cat who loves being outdoors.  We're keeping our fingers crossed!