The Catio

Recall that after Bugs’s latest unauthorized walkabout, my good landlord built a screen-porch addition to the house. Around three months ago, nine days after my surgery, I was still too debilitated to get out there to enjoy it, so I showed you what it was like from the inside, only.

Now, thanks to the miracle of healing, I’m off the crutches and while not exactly bounding down the steps, I can manage more-or-less. So here is The Catio from the outside.

Thanks to the uncanny and frankly somewhat-scary unseasonable warmth, the other day we did get out there to enjoy it. (It was in the ’70’s. In January.)

Bugs marches forth.

In the distant past I had tried to acclimate Bugs to a harness so we could enjoy outdoors safely. One time he may possibly have enjoyed this but, other than a few ultimately unsuccessful harness forays, he has been outside only AWOL. Each of those latter times he sought refuge in dark underground-type places, so I’m guessing he has pretty much never enjoyed the outside experience. He has been housebound for the 5.5 years we’ve been together. Hitherto happily, it’s been my fond hope.

No longer.

Did he ever react to outside.

“I show my tongue to you, Outside. You got nothing!”

No video, so just take my word for this: He roared. I can’t think of any other way to describe it. It was like this: YARL, step, ROWR, step, WRACK, sniff, MEEROW, pause, REEROW, etc. etc. etc. Constantly. He did not stop.

Back indoors, he kept right on with the Hallelujah Chorus. Got on my last nerve. Then he did this to the inside door. Because it’s got too cold now to go back out and . . .

Bugs begs to differ.

So I’m guessing this time he may have enjoyed himself.

Barney too. Great climber that he is, up he went.

“I wonder, can I get up in there?”

“Maybe I’ll try sideways. This ledge is at least 0.035 inches. Plenty wide.”

“Well – kind of long way down there.”

Whereupon he jumped down, all who-knows-how-many-pounds-of-him, onto the stone step. Ouch. When he does this inside the house, I have fixed the furniture so he has a soft landing. Not so outside. He seemed to manage fine, but next time I’m going to put a mat down there.

Back inside. Double-cushioned.

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