Fresh Air

[carol machulski]

Recently Reyna showed some interest in what's beyond the front door. Two years ago I had bought a harness and lead to take her out on the porch, but she hasn't been out in a year. I couldn't find the harness and so I clipped the lead to her collar and out we went. She at first kept trying to go back in but then decided to explore the porch area. After her collar came off twice, I figured it was time to go in.

[carol machulski]

 Since the last post on this topic, Reyna has been outside in harness twice and she's starting to get comfortable outside. So much so that earlier this week, she decided to jump down onto the feral cat house and sit there. Since I was attached to her via the lead, I tightened it so she couldn't go further. She tried though and I snubbed the lead on the  post and walked around the garden and shoved her back up onto the stoop and then hustled her inside. At first she was happy to be inside, but as I was eating my supper, I heard her meowing. When I checked, she was sitting at the front door. Went back to my supper and ignored her.

[carol machulski]

Last night I had to practically drag Reyna inside from sitting on the stoop. She didn't try to explore or walk down the steps this time.

[Angharad]

Most of my "personal" cats--as opposed to the group of feral cats I cared for--have all walked on leashes with a harness or a collar. When I got Bogie--the first feral cat who became a pet--I had only really had dogs, so I didn't imagine he'd have a problem on a leash. And oddly, he didn't!!! I just put a collar on him and a leash and out we went. I had to adjust to a cat version of a walk, which has a lot of stops and starts and detours; but soon we were walking all the way around the circle on which I live, which is about a mile. He was amazing, and he became quite the man about town.

Here's a picture of him just starting out on a walk with a friend of mine. He is cross because he didn't want to wait for me to take the shot...hahaha!

[carol machulski]

We haven't made much progress and this past summer only made it out once after Callie ran away. I was having a door fixed and the repairman forgot about the cats and left the stormdoor ajar. Callie took off and I couldn't catch her.  I later saw her in a neighbor's yard and went and spoke with the neighbor who said she'd been coming to eat at her yard with the other ferals. I've seen her once since then and she seems fine. I guess she just wanted to be free even though she lived with me for 8 years.