Edward Scissorhands, the cat who runs this house, has been housebound by HIS choice for the past six weeks.
Ed's been an "indoor-outdoor" cat all his life, and has seen no reason to change this routine now that he is at least 15 years old. It used to be that Defer, our dog, would bark when Ed wanted to come in, but with Defer gone, Ed has to hope that either EM, or my stepson or I, might be there to let him in when he returns.
When the weather turned so cold and blustery just after Christmas, we would open the door for the cat, and stand there while he tried to make up his mind if he could brave the cold. He'd shake his right front paw and retreat to a warmer spot.
He's taken up residence on a Christmas tree skirt that partially covers a floor vent. The cat has warm air ruffling his fur half the day.
So, we were incredibly surprised to find him running down the front walk this morning, when the door was opened. We have at least five inches of snow, probably more, and it's still VERY COLD out there, with a high of 16 today.
Ed made a half-circuit of the house. He checked to see that the birds were still using the feeder, and visited the herb garden to see just who was claiming it was THEIR territory, and then he ran for the back door.
I told him he was lucky he had a grandmother who would open the door for him on demand! *G*
Time outside......maybe five minutes!
Now all we'll hear is "Let me OUUUUUUUUUWWWWWWWWT!"
Comments (12)
I have two male brothers who go through this every day! :-) have a good weekend!
Posted by Joe | February 10, 2007 4:41 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 16:41
Shadow does the "shakey, shakey" thing with his paws before he goes out, Tory doesn't. Both of them have spent less time outside this winter than they have in the past. It is so noticable that WS actually commented on a couple of weeks ago.
They usually go out at least a couple of times regardless of the temperature (in the morning and again in the evening) so they don't have to use the cat boxes.
Posted by bogie | February 11, 2007 2:33 AM
Posted on February 11, 2007 02:33
Uh, Joe. How do your female brothers handle it? (Couldn't resist!)
Posted by Cop Car | February 11, 2007 12:40 PM
Posted on February 11, 2007 12:40
UGH! Litter boxes! I have to change the one in the basement today, a chore I hate! I'm glad to hear that other cats who have the choice to go out have been staying in. I was concerned that Ed was not well.
It was interesting to see just how fast he perked up after his little trip outside. He was acting like a kitten for a while.
How old are Shadow and Tory?
Posted by buffy | February 11, 2007 1:27 PM
Posted on February 11, 2007 13:27
Cop Car, you beat me to it! *G* I suspect I know what Joe meant to say, that he has two male cats which are brothers. I make enough errors in grammar that I really try not to take pot shots, but this one was irresistable.
Posted by buffy | February 11, 2007 1:29 PM
Posted on February 11, 2007 13:29
Too, too irresistable! BTW: I did check with the vet a couple of weeks ago when our cats got their shots. They were born in approximately May 1990 (CC) and July 1990 (Jelly), so ours are getting a bit long in the tooth (to match their mother!)
Posted by Cop Car | February 11, 2007 6:32 PM
Posted on February 11, 2007 18:32
Shadow is 9 and Tory is 7 - both still fairly young.
Posted by bogie | February 12, 2007 12:10 AM
Posted on February 12, 2007 00:10
I guess he finally got sick of being house-bound. I can understand that. I just came in from brushing all the snow off my car and moving it to another side of the street so the plow can clear my side. It's still coming down Buffy. This is a lot more than last week. It's 29 degrees right now by me...sounds colder by you. That's a LOT warmer than it's been. Ah Winter...gotta love it....or not!
Posted by Joy | February 12, 2007 10:11 AM
Posted on February 12, 2007 10:11
Bogie, I'd expect your cats to be more willing to risk a little cold. Ed is old enough now that the cold is harder on him, and it's possible that the radiation treatment he had a year ago has lowered his defenses.
Posted by buffy | February 12, 2007 1:18 PM
Posted on February 12, 2007 13:18
Joy, 29 sounds like a heat wave compared to what we've been going through the past week. Talk to me about loving winter after the storm that is coming in tonight! I'm hoping we will be on the edge of the heaviest snow, so we get three inches or less.
Posted by buffy | February 12, 2007 1:20 PM
Posted on February 12, 2007 13:20
Buffy, someone should hit me in the head with a snowball for talking about missing all the snow. This isn't what I had planned either...even though there could be a lot of snowmen showing up. I'm really hoping we don't get socked too hard with the one coming tonight....well, there goes another lunch date down the drain. I cancelled last Tuesday too. DRATS!
Posted by Joy | February 12, 2007 2:27 PM
Posted on February 12, 2007 14:27
Yeah....I wondered what you were thinking, daring the Snow God like that!
Can you put your lunch date off just a day or two? Maybe you'll be able to get out and about more easily on Wednesday or Thursday. I hope you're not snowed in!
Posted by buffy | February 12, 2007 2:31 PM
Posted on February 12, 2007 14:31