Entertaining kitty

I love walking in my neighbourhood and if I'm by myself, all the better to meet some friendly neighbourhood felines. I seem to be a magnet for the bored ones. It's a long day when you're 'put out' on the step to entertain yourself while the owner is off to work. I guess to have someone walk down your street gives you high hopes that they will stop and be dazzled by your beauty. Which, of course, I am.

This tuxedo cat literally fell off the porch while luring me in with his goofy moustache. I was a goner!
But, I can be fickle just like the next guy and turned my attention to a newcomer laying on the sidewalk.

"Glory be....you have a real talent there, bud."

This one also did some kind of yoga move that I never even attempted in class. I was feeling rather out-done in the talent department so I headed down the street to come across a very snobby cat...wouldn't give me the time of day.

I'm gonna presume he was deaf but wondered why he would be outside if he was.
I didn't want to startle him so I didn't check to see if his eyes were blue which would have given me reason to believe that he was probably stone deaf. He was lovely to look at, though.
There was no sun-worshiping going on today but the house-bound cats on my walk seemed to be entertained by the free-roaming ones on their street.

I wondered what they may be thinking...possibly longing to be free. 

I pondered this debate that I struggle with about the domesticated cat being an indoor-only versus indoor/outdoor pet. So many of my clients give their cats some freedom to enjoy the out-doors and others do not for the sake of their safety. Some stay in because of traffic while others are kept in because of wild-life problems. Some let them roam because the road is far from the property and some just take a chance and let them out no matter what. It has always been a debate that can really ruffle some feathers.
I have, in the past, allowed cats the freedom to come and go as they pleased. This was mostly because I brought them in off the street and it was very difficult to keep a cat in that survived on it's own for a long time. Other cats I kept in a fenced yard and one was supervised on a leash. With the age of our cats now, we are able to let them out in a screened in porch and they are happy to sleep the day away in the sunshine. It seems to be enough for them.

I presume there will never be a clear answer on whether a cat should have some freedom. I know that safety comes first so I like to see them inside but I also see very bored cats sometimes and it hurts a little. They really are interesting, curious and demanding animals and they need their environment to be stimulating and fun. WE need to provide this for the cat and the more we make their indoor life similar to what they love in the outdoors, the happier our cats will be. If you are interested in sprucing up an area of your home to make your cat's life more entertaining, pop over to this wonderful blog called Katnip Lounge http://katniplounge.blogspot.ca/ for some fun ideas to keep kitty content inside.

hugs, Deb