If you are a cat lover, this may not may not settle too well. Here goes. Every night, after sleeping pretty much all day, our cat, Rita, heads for the great outdoors. (Please note – this is her choice! We’ve tried keeping her in overnight and generally, she wakes us up about 3:00 for her ritualistic roam.) I always imagine her prowling through the darkness. Apparently, she’s happiest out there with the wild things and after 8 years, she must be smart enough not to get eaten by anything. (Think bears, a random hungry fox, the occasional mountain lion.)
But with the recent chilling temperatures, Rita seems to have had a change of heart. (I tell you, she is one intelligent feline.) As is our custom, when I found her sitting by the door, I put her out the other night. But ten minutes later, as I was making the final pass through the house, there she sat, wanting back in. Trust me, this has never happened. I gladly accommodated her, as letting her go out into the freezing temperature had not been my first wish.
My dear husband agreed that she should be inside. (Neither one of us wanted to look out in the morning to find our cat frozen in our front yard.) We both resigned ourselves for the inevitable, middle-of-the-night wake-up call. But it never came. Rita curled up on the bed, went to sleep and stayed there all night long. We repeated this routine again last night. Out. In. Sleep.
This morning, as I watched Rita stretch and gaze out into the yard, I had to wonder if she has joined us here in the second half of life? A little more interested in comfort, perhaps a bit less daring, at times, quite happy to laze about.
And then I came to my senses. No, it’s just been too darned cold for any self-respecting cat to venture out. Score one for Rita!