The boys spent their first day outside today. They have been going out for short, carefully supervised jaunts every evening this week, but this is the first time they got to go out for a significant period of time. The weather is gorgeous-- the sky is clear, the air slightly breezy, and with the sun well up it's cool but not too chilly. I opened all the doors and windows and have been letting the cats come and go as they please today, stepping outside to check on them often.

(FYI, I live in an apartment complex with the parking lot outside my front door and a large field with high-tension power lines out back. There is a place where a cat can stroll under the fence, and the field makes a great place to run and play. I live about a quarter-mile from a major freeway, and I would consider that a serious danger for an intact tom, but these guys probably won't go that far, particularly considering they spent the first six months of their lives inside.)

Zephyr lived up to his name, running like the wind, leaping here and there, and tearing off to investigate something new every 10 seconds. He has not set foot back indoors since I let them out around 11:00. Zorro is a more timid close-to-home cat, and came back in several times on his own. They are much more calm with me now that they're not so afraid I'm going to capture them and force them back inside. After about an hour outside (twice as long as any of their previous jaunts) they have calmed down and seem to be casually hanging around.

They are also in a great mood today because none of the other local cats seem to be around. They got harassed by various other cats on almost every previous trip outside, and although it was not enough to make them want to come back in, it was oviously somewhat stressful for them. Today, they are free of that and are simply having a good time.

I stroked Zephyr as he was rolling in the grass and muttered a little statement to him that turned out to be a spontaneous silly little ditty:

Zephyr likes to be outside,
Outside is fun.
Lots of things to see and smell,
And room to run.

And Zephyr cetrtainly did enjoy having room to run, being the six-month-old kitten that he is. He loves to dash at top speed about 50 feet down the sidewalk for no apparent reason. Kittens! Just now, Zorro actually came back inside through the opne door, ran to the open (screened) window, and cried pathetically. Silly!

Copyright © Tess
February 19, 2001