Walking the Cat

Originally posted January 16, now with pictures!

Iggy

Took the cat for a walk, or should I say, the cat took me. During the summer I will open a window for them. They like nothing better than sitting on the window sill and watching the birds. During the winter it is too cold to leave a window open, and no one has offered to build my "cat window box", so they are denied this privilege. The little female, Iggy, does not complain, but the big male, Gus, squawks continuously, which leads to him getting booted out to the garage.

Gus

Why aren't they outside cats, you might ask? Well, our previous cat met an untimely death at the paws of a raccoon. My daughter, fearful of the new cats' safety, has prohibited their going out of doors, and me, the big softy, has acceded to her demands.

Still, the outdoors is their native habitat. Being cooped up in a house, especially a house without any mice, is as unnatural an environment as you could ask for. To alleviate this situation I have taken to letting Gus outside for a few minutes during the day, supervised, of course. The only door he is happy going out is the front door. I suspect this is because, unlike the side and back doors, there is cover in the form of shrubbery within a couple of feet of this door. So far he has just been content to crouch in the shadows and observe. I spend the time walking back and forth on the sidewalk in front of the house. I suppose I make an odd sight, if there were anyone around to see me, but being as this is suburbia, there isn't. Everyone is at work.

I am supposed to be getting some exercise, walking a mile each day is my goal. It is the easiest thing to do. I do not have to drive anywhere or change clothes or talk another shower. Walk out the door and once around the neighborhood and back inside. Twenty five minutes and I am good.

So today I tried just walking back and forth in front of the house for 25 minutes while Gus crouched in the bushes. You might think it was a little tedious, but so is walking around the neighborhood. It does give the old gray matter time to percolate. I may have to start carrying a tape recorder to make notes about all the great ideas I come up with while I am walking. I sure don't remember them all.

Occasionally I remember to try and work on my posture, but I quickly revert to form and walk with my head down, watching the ground where I am walking. Now walking around the neighborhood, this posture occasionally results in finding a stray airsoft pellet or a loose nut or screw. Walking back and forth in front of my house is going to reduce my findings considerably. Perhaps if I exhaust the ground quickly, I will work a little more on my posture.

Update March 2016 replaced missing pictures.