Outside on Purpose

OK, so this kind of stinks.

(And, yes -- sigh -- I am going to blog about the cat AGAIN. I have very little range, OK? Kid and cat, cat and kid. Take away the kid and I am quickly becoming Angela from The Office, US version, who keeps cat figurines on her desk and calls them "old souls." I knew this would happen! I have old-lady-with-too-many-cats in my family history.)

Anyway, it all begins on Saturday, when I had some people over and one of the people said to me, "Is that your cat?" (Currently hanging out on the front porch.) "You don't let him go outside ON PURPOSE, do you?" Well, yes, actually, I do.

Now, I know there are arguments against this barbaric, outdated practice, but look, this is Texas and EVERYONE goes out. Man or beast, we all spend a good amount of time outdoors. And, look, this is Texas. We just don't tend to coddle the animals. The cat came to me never having been INSIDE a house. (His mom was a stray; he was born in a carport and kept in a kennel in there for 6 weeks.) Most vets areound here treat livestock as often as housepets, and the pigs go out. So, I just give Chester his kitty-sized firearm and send him on his way. (This is Texas... get it? Joke, people. Joke.)

I tried hard to be polite when called on the carpet about... gasp.... letting the cat out. One of my guests is a pretty frequent visitor and is clearly allergic to the cat, so for her alone I would have banished him to a back room. But he chose the outdoors early in the afternoon, and I didn't usher him back in until he showed up on the porch.

This is pretty routine, by the way. Cat goes out for jaunts about twice a day and comes back in when he gets hungry/ when he needs a nap/ when Miles gets home/ when it gets darkish. He has a friend next door named Mister Whiskers, and he sometimes follows Mister Whiskers home. (Mister also nudges unlatched doors open and comes ininvited into our home. Have I mentioned the time Miles said -- over dinner -- "Oh, look! Mom, Chester has a friend over!"?!)

All seems well with this nifty little system. My cat has an entire kingdom on Sherry Lane. He also has play dates, gets his energy out and still remembers where his food bowl is. Only yesterday or today... Chester must have played a little too hard, because he came home with a scratched eye and has been almost constantly napping ever since.

I think the eye will heal on its own. It's just swollen and pink, making it look unlike the other one. But the cat lets me mush his face without making a noise, he purrs and his appetite is fine.

Only... dammit! Someone said I shouldn't let him out, and almost at that same moment, he gets hurt outside?! This does NOT look good!

It was probably playtime with Mister Whiskers. Chess is way more agile and determined to win, but The Mister just keeps coming back for more. They swish their tails and bat the air and chase and chase, finally falling into a tangled ball of fur on the back driveway -- Chester always on top and Whiskers always flinching first. They do this silently, and when I first saw it, I sprinted outside to save my endangered kitten from the 10-lb gray evil. Then I noticed that they were so relaxed... no raised backs or wrinkled noses, no snarls or flared ears. Their tails were just swishing, swishing, then Chester would crouch down to signal the start of the chase. After each encounter, Mister Whiskers would disentangle himself, circle our backyard and then start again. (I don't know... maybe when they play at his house, Mister Whiskers gets to be the tough guy. Around here, he's the patsy every time.)

So, I figure the boys just went at it a little too hard. And maybe Mister needed to defend himself. I'm not upset with the other cat. But I know cats can infect each other with some pretty bad stuff. And I know eyes are vital organs. And I know I'll have to watch my cat carefully for days, now. And I am seriously going to hate driving him to the vet. ...Where a nice, non-judgmental old guy will make Chester all better, but not before some fresh-faced, well-meaning vet tech will say to me, "You know, people don't let their cats outdoors anymore. You didn't actually send him outside ON PURPOSE, did you?"