The Games I Played Outside

While Fluffy liked to be indoors after we invited her in, she was accustomed to being outside and who were we to argue against that. After all, she was basically in charge of the household and we were fine with that. She had her routines and little games she would play outside. I can't say with certainty what she did every time when she was outside. Sometimes she went on her own little adventures. We had no idea what that would be or where that might be. Often Michele thought it would be interesting to attach a Go-Pro just to see what she did while outside. Sometimes when it was getting late at night we would have to go out looking for her. At times we would find her, other times she would not show up until much later. Those much later times, I would stay up late waiting for her. She was like a teenager in this regard. Fluffy, like every cat, had a mind and personality of her own and you could not change it, nor would we want to.

Prior to us taking Fluffy in, she was the neighborhood stray and would get hand outs from our neighbors. After Fluffy came to live with us, we began to hear stories from our neighbors about their interactions with her. Some of our neighbors would give her food and water, others would give her pets and attention, and some would even help her with the mats that would develop on her back and legs as she was a long haired cat. I recall one time after she had breakfast I let her out and I watched her from the window to see what she would do on her morning stroll. She went up and down all the neighbors' sidewalks, seeing if there were any hand outs waiting for her. This was just after she ate. All I could do was laugh about it. We also heard stories of neighbors who would leave their garage doors cracked so that she could take shelter there for the night and one was so generous he bought a heated bed for her, which he said she never used. A neighbor shared a memory of Fluffy with us after she passed saying how she and her husband loved to hang out with Fluffy outside while they enjoyed and beer and she enjoyed some good pets. This same neighbor would look out for Fluffy when we were out of town and always made sure that she had treats and attention.

As we mentioned earlier Fluffy loved to be outside and while outside she loved to play, when she was not hunting for treats or prey. One game we caught her playing frequently was jumping into the zebra grass out in front of the condo. I think because her fur was so thick it did not cut or irritate her like it would us. She also loved to run around in the grass trying to catch bugs and flies. There was also a small tree in the front of the condo that she loved to scratch on while simultaneously stretching. She also enjoyed rolling around on the sidewalk and in the grass. She loved to lay in the sun until it got to be too hot. Once in a while I would even catch her sharpening her claws on the tires of my car. We were told by a couple of neighbors who have indoor cats that she loved to come up to their windows and stare at their cats. She was even known to taunt a few by rolling around on their patio while they were stuck inside. She likely had other games that she would play but these are the ones we remember the most.