.
It’s not often that we witness a change this radical quite so quickly.
And we’ve never experienced wildfire smoke in December before.
Changing times!
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Another reason to like cats.
They are so dependable.
.
You can always safely rely on a cat to mess up your day.
Consequently, if you live with multiple cats, messed-up days are no surprise.
You roll your eyes and carry on.
Mostly.
.
“Going to be another story about me?”
This time we weren’t going to get upset.
Yeah, right.
“Your readers will think I’m an idiot!”
Hmmm…
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You guessed it.
Little Man escaped again.
Dee Dee was lingering outside, so Grant held the door open to call her…and out he went.
The alarm went up, preceded by a colourful curse word:
“Little Man is out!!”
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Abandoning the washing up, I went to the front door, but the moment he caught sight of me, the little wretch fled up the hill in the direction of the farm.
“Well,” said – the idiot –
“We know he’ll come back.”
That much we’d learned from the previous adventure and it was also clear that he wasn’t likely to allow anyone else to seize him for the purpose of carrying him off.
.
So we didn’t worry as much. The trouble with this little lad is that once he’s out, he seems to have trouble getting himself back in.
He’s an affectionate cat that loves to be picked up and cuddled, when he’s indoors. The moment he sets foot outside he sees us as scary monsters.
And while he knows food and a warm bed are beyond the doorway, getting past it is apparently like running a gauntlet.
Only to be attempted after dark.
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So there we were again with the door open and the tempting bowl of food just inside.
This time, I’m not sure why, the other cats weren’t enclosed in locked rooms.
Though when Dee Dee came to nosh on the bait I did suggest that rather than shouting at her, it might be a good idea to contain her.
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I’m not fond of the cats going out, but they love their short walks and they don’t ever stray or stay out long, so I’ve come to accept it, in daylight.
Allowing them free access to the outdoors after dark is another matter, but this recovery was Grant’s plan and I didn’t want to interfere.
The girls were puzzled.
Blackie loitered by the door.
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Lily and Willow went out..
Beginning to twitch, I kept silent!
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Muffin woke from a doze and wondered what was going on.
She sniffed at the bait then marched outside but decided she didn’t need to participate in this activity and came back in.
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Dear Sophia is quite deaf so she was sound asleep and unaware that anything was amiss.
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This time, luckily, the temperature was moderate, so we weren’t likely to acquire frostbite which was a risk on that previous occasion! (Alright, I exaggerate, but it was seriously cold that night.)
Somewhere around 6 pm, the boy made his first approach but quickly lost courage and scarpered.
It was then suggested that I should abandon computer activity and turn off all lights, so I withdrew to read on kindle.
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Grant had rigged the door again, to be pulled shut the moment Little Man was across the threshold and he sat watching and waiting…
…and waiting, and waiting.
Periodically our problem child appeared out by the garage, but he wasn’t making further approaches and eventually Grant got fed up with this vigil.
Time to act…
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What brought Little Man through the door after his first adventure was the sound of Lily’s loud voice:
“Maow-ow-ow!”
But this time she offered no encouragement.
I must capture her call for the future!
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Well if Lily wasn’t going to assist…
Grant went outside and found the boy sitting by the hedge, but whereas he’d responded to Lily’s call, our cat was deaf to the man’s voice.
Sitting on the steps making cute noises also didn’t work.
All of this I gathered while sitting quietly without comment. It’s the best policy when the man has a plan!
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Dee Dee had been protesting her containment:
“Lemme out! Lemme go get him!”
So she was released and out she went and fetched him.
I promised her I’d tell the story, seeing as how she got the blame for his long adventure.
When she went out, the boy scampered up and touched her nose, then followed her back inside.
I only wished the man had warned me before slamming the door behind him.
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At breakfast yesterday, Grant bemoaned the fact that we had not seen Nibbs for some time.
Five minutes later, who sauntered by?
Come to wish us Happy New Year, clearly.
Thank you, Carolyn, for the interesting cat -musings! And the photos!
Joanna
There’s no doubt that His Nibbs is tuned into Grant’s wavelength.
Dee Dee comes to rescue Little Man! Yay!
I loved this story!
So nice to see Nibbs again, as well!
Thank you for sharing ❤️
Cats do the darndest things. Like stay out in the cold for no good reason. Then boil their brains in front of the heat source. Ditto. Question for the psychology of this little fella is: Does keeping him in encourage him the stay out late when he does make a runner? It’s clear he knows where home is. (Unfortunately, he also does not know what dangers lurk.)
Happy New Year to you both, and each, and all.
Oh, naughty Little Man! But he does inspire entertaining tales. A happy ending to start the New Year!
I think you will have to get used to those escapes and try not to worry too much. A young male cat must have his adventures. Glad to see His Nibbs back.
Best wishes, Pete.