Cabin fever February

Poor pets, always at the mercy of human beings and the natural elements.

Our cat Bob fixated on a squirrel (the fluffy blur three-quarters of the way up in the first photo) one day last summer for most of the afternoon. He's been an indoor cat since last May when he went missing for three weeks. That's a long story, but suffice to say certain neighbors can be cruel if they feel their yards are being trespassed upon. I tried taking Bob outside on a leash a few times last summer, but it seemed neither of us had the patience. Bob's been housebound for ten months now. This a short clip of him returning one night before his "capture."

Since being stuck indoors, Bob has had his share of restless periods. Bob is a clever feline and takes advantage of situations where you can't avoid him. For instance, I'll be washing dishes and he'll start howling to go outside three feet away from me (if you've owned a cat, you know how annoying the sound is) I can't get away as my hands are in dish water and I can't move for twenty minutes or more. It's brutal. It's like a baby has fallen down a well or something and is crying to be saved. Uughhhh...I just shiver thinking about Bob's howling ability. I'd love nothing more to let him out when he's like this, to let a cat be a cat so to speak, but Heidi and I can't risk him being "apprehended" by a certain person in the neighborhood.

That's Bob's life in a nutshell; looking at life through the living room window. He's happy enough I suppose, but I'm sure he misses balancing on fences, chasing butterflies, and lying on the lawn in the hot summer sun. One good thing about Bob being inside is the local bird population didn't take a hit last summer. Unfortunately, Bob as an outdoor cat was a very efficient killer.

I play with Bob when I have a spare moment or two. I grew catnip for him last summer which I am rationing until I can grow more. He goes crazy for homegrown catnip.

I guess that's one thing Bob looks forward to. Free drugs.