Isn't that crazy how he's hardly ever been out, and the one time he does get out, he manages to make a kill?? I used to have this cat, Porky. She was a stray. She was up in my pine tree yowling and yowling, so I let her in the house, and adopted her. I took her to the vet to have her spayed, and the vet says "Had this cat long? She's already been spayed!" But she had a piece of ovary left that was making her go into heat, and yowl. So she was this tough, street-wise cat. I'd never been a cat person, but I loved her. She could hunt like crazy! I had three bells on her, and she still managed to get birds, rabbits, squirrels, mice. We'd take her up to the cabin and within minutes of being let out of the car she'd be back with a mouse. Guess how she ended up- hit by a car- a cat that had been on her own for who knows how long.
So we got a couple more cats, now that we were cat people. Koko, who was a stray Siamese. At first he was named Abby, until I took him to the vet and found out I couldn't sex cats. Then a fancy Siamese from a breeder, Yum Yum. (Named after fictional cats in The Cat Who series, who were named after characters in The Mikado.) They were indoor cats. Then my sister's outside stray cat had kittens, and we moved out to the country, and took two of those. BK and Kali. They were both outdoor cats, hunters, who came in at night. There was a rule- all cats had to be in before dark. One time BK, my favorite (he even has a song about him!) disappeared for two weeks. I was heartbroken. One day my daughter woke me up (I worked nights) by screaming "He's home!" He was skinny and beat up, but ok. We had a tornado and BK and Kali were outside at the time. They returned that night- who knows what they'd been through. One night, Kali didn't come home. When I left for work at 10PM, there she was at the end of the driveway, hit by a car. She was my daughter's favorite.
Eventually, their luck runs out. But they sure want to be outside. My friend has a cat that goes out on a leash, on a stake, and seems to enjoy it, but she was raised that way.
Here's my Beefers (BK). He's safe and sort of sound up in Minnesota with my ex. He got diabetes in his old age, but it's manageable so far. He takes trips to Florida every winter in a motorhome. I got to see him last spring.
Nanci
BK's Song:
Little BK
Little BK
Stripes and spots
Likes to go for walks
Always in a fight
Can't walk right
Ears like lynx
Likes to lay in sinks