In which Toby meets the neighbors
So,
Josh wanted to go outside, and so Mom and I ultimately went out there with him. Josh's outside demands are few: he wants a large object, such as a table or the barbecue, under which he can hang out and listen to the city noises and sniff the city sniffs.
Toby, on the other hand, likes to climb things. He wandered around on the roof of the hallway to the garage for a while. He followed the wall around the upper deck until he was looking down at the alley. He leapt right across the abyss to get back to the wall he had come from. My heart basically stopped during all of this, but I worked on not worrying. He's a cat. He knows how to jump. He knows what he's doing.
Then Toby decided to jump up on the wall that divides our deck from the neighbors'. And then he jumped down on the other side.
I called him, I watched him. He didn't respond. He trotted down the stairs to the door to their kitchen, where the Mrs. Neighbor banged on the window at him. He almost went into their garage. This is about when I ran down into the alley and rang her doorbell.
I introduced myself and explained that I thought my cat was in her backyard. She said, "Oh yeah, I did see a cat a minute ago. I think he ran along the side of the house to the street." Talk about terrifying.
Then she came out to let me in through her garage, and in the process scared Toby back over the wall.
Thank goodness. The kitties love their deck time, but I'm not sure how to balance that with the abject terror of my sweet, darling Toby wandering the neighborhood. I've never had to worry about his wanderlust before. Sigh.
Josh wanted to go outside, and so Mom and I ultimately went out there with him. Josh's outside demands are few: he wants a large object, such as a table or the barbecue, under which he can hang out and listen to the city noises and sniff the city sniffs.
Toby, on the other hand, likes to climb things. He wandered around on the roof of the hallway to the garage for a while. He followed the wall around the upper deck until he was looking down at the alley. He leapt right across the abyss to get back to the wall he had come from. My heart basically stopped during all of this, but I worked on not worrying. He's a cat. He knows how to jump. He knows what he's doing.
Then Toby decided to jump up on the wall that divides our deck from the neighbors'. And then he jumped down on the other side.
I called him, I watched him. He didn't respond. He trotted down the stairs to the door to their kitchen, where the Mrs. Neighbor banged on the window at him. He almost went into their garage. This is about when I ran down into the alley and rang her doorbell.
I introduced myself and explained that I thought my cat was in her backyard. She said, "Oh yeah, I did see a cat a minute ago. I think he ran along the side of the house to the street." Talk about terrifying.
Then she came out to let me in through her garage, and in the process scared Toby back over the wall.
Thank goodness. The kitties love their deck time, but I'm not sure how to balance that with the abject terror of my sweet, darling Toby wandering the neighborhood. I've never had to worry about his wanderlust before. Sigh.