A Tale of Two Kitties

 Houdi made himself comfortable pretty quickly at the new place. It was my fondest hope that he would make up his mind to be an indoor cat.  

At the old house, he did wind up being an indoor/outdoor cat. He was persistent. After he escaped a few times, I accepted he knew where he lived, and that the two ferals that hung around our house did not seem to be aggressive, and that he did not seem to roam. 

At this house, it is different. At least two ferals here can be aggressive. (Tiger actually shot across the field after the bear last night.) And...the coyotes are predators. The road is not a quiet city street. It is a highway, a truck route with a 55 mph speed limit.

The first night, he was here, he slept happily at the foot of the bed as usual. Also (as usual), he went to the door about 4 am and meowed to go out.

We argued about this for some time, but he kept up his yowling. I put him the basement  but the stairwell actually amplified his yowling. 

 Nobody was getting any sleep. I finally gave up and let him out. He did not come back and I spent the day calling him and looking for him to no avail. That evening, I heard a familiar yowling. I went to the door and called him. He shot past me into the house. 

I am not sure what happened, but he suddenly seems very content to be an indoor cat. When the door is opens, he runs the other way.

That is a relief.

So that's the tale of one kitty. I promised you a tale of two kitties.

Remember Freddie? He belonged to an elderly neighbor down the street. He started life as a feral, but she brought him in and he lived a comfortable life for a couple years. But the neighbor's declining health required a cross country haul to Arizona. She could only bring two cats and made the decision to keep the two cats she had all their lives. 

The street cat named Freddie went to a lady across the street. When she was evicted from her apartment, she left Freddie behind.

It is only a guess, but I believe left to his own devices, Freddie tried to return to the only home he knew. I believe the new owner was mean to him. He fled and showed up at our house, sleeping on the second floor balcony for the winter. 

When I noticed him, he got fed. He hissed and spit when I tried to get close enough to see the name on his collar. I am sure it was a miserable winter, but gradually, I was able to pet him and see the name tag and using Facebook, finally got his whole sad story.

I couldn't bring myself to leave him behind again. He and Houdi got along at the old house.  

Today, I matter of factly picked him up, popped him in a cat carrier and brought him home. He was very anxious during the car ride. I took him him into the basement and opened the carrier. He stuck his head out. I assured him that he was home. 

He is down there somewhere. He has all the necessities of life there while he makes up his mind. The basement door is open, so that he can come upstairs when he is ready.