JJ is a braver cat than Mouse, so when it became time for the cats to try and escape from the house, it was JJ that made the first attempt. We had mixed feelings about letting them outside. They were indoor cats when we lived in our Silver Spring apartment, but loved the outdoors when we lived in Baltimore, and spent at least half of their time outside. When we moved to South Hero we had plenty of yard/field and no traffic nearby, so it was perfect for them, and yet they never went out. No interest. So here we are in Richmond, right on a busy highway, which makes us nervous for them, but on the other hand we have a big yard, a stream, and plenty of great fun to be had for cats.
After their disinterest in outdoor living in South Hero, I wondered how long it would take before they ventured out of our new house. As it turns out, it took two months. At first they would only go out on the steps and then run back in, and Mouse still really only does that. One time she ran outside, around the house, and then right back in the back door, but she pretty much stays close by. JJ, on the other hand, likes a little more excitement.
JJ spent his first extended time outside a few days ago, when he ran out of the door as we were coming in for the night. We tried to get him back in over and over again, but he was nowhere to be found. He is black you know, and there are not lot of outdoor lights in Vermont. I believe the flashlights are still packed somewhere, so we finally had to give up looking for him and go to bed. JJ got to sleep outside.
In the morning, he still was not around and we were getting worried. It was pouring rain now, so we thought maybe he was hiding under a bush or something, trying to keep dry. Eventually, I got so worried that I decided to brave the rain and go searching for him.
Did I mention our house is attached to a big barn? Did I also mention we do not have access to said barn? Well, it’s true, and as you may have guessed from the title of this blog, JJ had managed to get himself into the barn. I could see his little nose poking out from under the barn door and he was meowing, so I tried to get him to come out. The thing was, the place that he squeezed in was directly under a steady drip of water from the roof, so he was not really interested in soaking himself to get free.
I called and called, and finally he came out, the picture of sad wetness. He even let me pick him up (which he never does outside, because it embarrasses him in front of the other cats), and we walked towards the open front door of our house. About 40 feet from the door a big truck went by on the highway that we live on, and JJ freaked out. He started tearing the flesh from my bones and attempted to completely claw my arm off. I clutched him tightly and ran for the door, but I was still about 20 feet away when I dropped him. Then what does the stupid cat do? Let me tell you what he does not do. He does not run 20 feet into the warm dry house that is full of cat food. Instead, he runs back across the lawn, around the house, up the side street and back into the barn.
This was my cue from the universe to give up, so I went back inside to dry off. When Simone got home, it was her turn to try and entice the cat back into the house with sweet nothings and violent threats. That didn’t work, so she brought a bowl of cat food out and sat by the hole in the barn door for almost 15 minutes, waiting to spring her trap. She finally emerged victorious, cat in hand, through the back door, which was very clever of her, as there were no big trucks in our back yard, and JJ shook himself off and sauntered about the living room as if he were moderately glad to be home, but we were all beneath him and ought to be giving him treats of some sort.
The moral of this story is, cats do what they want, and try not to live near big holey barns that you do not have a key to if you have cats who possess a taste for adventure.