By Adam Stewart
From the Newsroom
It has been more than a month since I last wrote about my cats, so it is probably time to return to the adventures of Minnie and Pumpkin.
When last I wrote about the cats, Michelle and I had moved Pumpkin—who normally lives outside—into Michelle’s office to escape the summer heat. Pumpkin was quarantined in the office, because she and Minnie do not get along at all.
It took Pumpkin a few days to get settled in and comfortable in the office, but she got used to it quickly enough. We mounted a cat hammock on one wall so she could have a comfortable high spot to survey the room from. Pumpkin likes to get up high where she can have the best views, quite the opposite of Minnie, who likes to stalk us and her toys from underneath cover.
But after a couple of months inside, we could tell that Pumpkin was starting to get a little antsy the past week or two. Climbing the baby gates in the doorway between the office and dining room. Meowing for attention more often. Ignoring her breakfast, preferring to sneak past me and run around the house a little bit.
But with triple-digit temperatures even during the Kansas State Fair, we felt the need to wait until it really cooled down so we could feel good about letting her back outside. The opportunity finally came on Sunday, with a high in the 70s and nothing above 81 in the forecast.
So on Sunday, we cleaned our garage to give Pumpkin a neat and tidy space, not that she would notice or care. After throwing out the trash, taking stuff that we were done with but someone else could use out to the curb, dusting things off and sweeping the floor, we took Pumpkin out to the garage, where she promptly climbed up into the rafters for most of the afternoon and evening.
We left the doors open so a breeze could blow through and keep it cool enough up in the rafters while Pumpkin readjusted to being outside again. Finally, around 9 p.m., she came down from the rafters, ate her dinner and went out to re-explore the block. Satisfied that she was feeling enough like herself after the transition, we said goodnight and went inside.
For her part, Minnie was as playful as we’ve seen her in quite a while on Sunday evening—running, jumping and pouncing as she chased her favorite toy, a fuzzy worm with a bell attached to a sort of fishing pole.
When I got up to feed the cats Monday morning, I didn’t have to go looking for Pumpkin like I sometimes do. She met me right at the back door. As soon as I stepped outside and she saw that I had her food, she turned around and trotted into the garage, waiting for me by her food dish. I put the food in the dish, and she waited a couple of seconds for me to pet her on the head before digging in.
I had been a little bit worried Sunday night, even after she came down from the rafters to eat. I knew Pumpkin would be OK, but I wasn’t sure how long it would take for her to re-acclimate to being outside. It turns out I didn’t need to worry much, because after just one night, it was like she had never been inside. She was fully back in the rhythm.
When I left for work, she was lounging in the grass next to the driveway, scampering away before I drove by.
I wonder if she has noticed yet that our front door has changed. She certainly will soon enough. She would jump up and hang on our old storm door to peek in the window, but she won’t be able to do that with the new door.
I know what she’ll do, though. She’ll jump up and hang on the screen on our living room window when she wants attention or wants to know what we’re doing. And it will startle me every single time.
Adam Stewart is the assistant news editor of The Hutchinson Tribune. He can be reached at adam@hutchtribune.com.