Cat Yard Breach

Escapee Buffy.
Escapee Nemo.

My cat yard wire failed. How did I find out? I caught a glimpse of the back of a long hair black cat outside the cat yard in my carport. I thought "That isn't a neighbor cat." I waited, to get a better look. It was Nemo.

"OMG," I gasped, and raced outside. He was frantic to get back into the cat yard, so frantic he tried to push his head through the "window" in the cat yard fence, made of chain link fencing. I was so scared he was going to break his neck, because he actually got his head through. I backed way off. He pulled himself out of the chain link and raced around to the backyard. I found him hiding behind the heat pump at one point, but he ran again, when I reached in to pull him out. He was beside himself with angst.

He was terrified at this point.

I saw him climb the fence finally, walk gingerly on top of the wire cat yard, which is chicken wire, then he disappeared. Fortunately, he dropped right back through the hole he got out through to begin with, back down into the cat yard, through a hole in wire surrounding a tree branch, then mad dashed through the garage run into the house. He was so relieved to be safely back inside.

I quickly got the rest of the cats inside, and closed off the cat yard. I had one other escapee and spent quite some time herding her back inside. That was Buffy. I thought Oci got out, but she is not the wildly athletic risk taker type, not like the young males or the overweight eager to show off and best everybody issue laden Buffy, who would be one to not only follow Nemo out, but swat at him, once he found the hole, so she could go first.

Knowing Oci's personality, I didn't really panic over not finding her in the head count I then conducted. She's good at hiding, very good at hiding and moving slowly, out of my sight, so I don't even catch sight of her movement when looking. Sure enough, when I returned from dropping off some old wood at someones burn pile, there she was, in the cat run, angry the cat yard is closed off to her access. They are all mad, but I have to do modifications now.

I'm always having to try to outsmart these darn cats and it is a losing battle.

I was going to go to Starly's memorial service this afternoon in Eugene. Instead, I was chasing down escapee cats here.

They're all in, mad, but in. Tomorrow I have to go back to work on the cat yard and try to fix it. I'm fed up with the yard right now. It's soggy and muddy and yukky. If I could direct the sun to just shine there, upon it, to keep it dry, even twice weekly, I'd be so grateful to you, Ms. Sun. Come on now, Shine on Me and My cat yard. Thank you in advance.