Cat Fight!

Cumulus fractus; Cumulus humilis ("fair weather clouds")

This is Stella, and she's up to no good.
For months Stella is content to be in the house sleeping, eating, playing and cuddling. However, when the spring arrives she's a different animal and she 'needs' to be outside. She becomes the Houdini of cats - one second she's in the house - the next second she's outside. She has us spinning foolishly.

Just look at that face. If you live with a cat you know that look. She has probably spotted an unsuspecting bird on the neighbors bird bath and is thinking, "ah, time to have me a little fun!" Most times I see her hunched down and creeping between the peonies in the garden. When I call her name she pokes her head up momentarily then hunkers down again and continues her stalking be it a bug or something bigger.

Last night around 9:00 we heard two cats fighting loudly. Moments before I had seen Stella in the kitchen at the food bowl and thought it couldn't be her out there fighting, but something told me that it was her fighting outside. Olivia had already rushed out the door the I followed behind, but once outside we didn't see or hear her when we called her name. I went back upstairs to check once again to see if she were in the house but she wasn't - I thought I would give it 15 or 20 minutes and check outside again and by that time she made her way into the entry and was at the bottom of the stairs. I could see the fur around her neck was in disarray with pieces sticking out here and there. I took one look at her and she mewed as if saying, I'm ready to come in. It was probably another neighborhood cat she fought with but I sometimes fear that she will come face to face with the neighborhood skunk or the opossum that make their home in our neighbors wood pile.

We are responsible cat owners and while I usually keep my animals inside there is something about Stella that needs to be outdoors. So, we allow her to be in the yard but set limits like no crossing the street ever and certainly no overnights allowed. We also intervene when we see bird stalking behavior - we scare the bird away or distract the cat, which ever is closer. If we didn't let her out we would have to endure her constant door scratching and door knob jiggling - her outdoor neediness is profound and cannot be denied.

Saint Francis look after our Stella and our Grayman outdoors - keep them safe from harm and keep the birds 12 feet from their tiny paws.