I Wonder....

about Oliver.

Poor thing...what could he be thinking?

For the past few days we've had warm weather here in east central Ohio. Not sunny, but at least it's been warm.

I've opened up the door in our bedroom that leads out to the patio. The screen door is slid into place, so there's no escape route for our precious felines, but when I open up the big door, they like to lie there and look outside.

Pepina and Marina were both adopted from our local cat shelter and never spent any time outside since they joined our family.

Oliver, on the other hand, showed up at our back door last May. And then we decided to keep him.

He was an outdoor cat. At one point in time, he may have been someone's indoor cat, but if he was going to become a part of our family he was going to have to adjust to the inside, because I was not going to have a cat coming and going, possibly bringing bugs and other yucky stuff into the house. I was also not going to be constantly worrying about whether or not he was safe while outside.

So Oliver is an inside cat.

Friday evening, he sat next to the screen door in our bedroom, staring outside for several hours. Like maybe 5 or 6. It didn't matter that it was dark outside, he still stared and stared.

What was he thinking?

I wish I could go back out there.

I want to run wild.

I want to feel the wind on my face.

I want to chase squirrels and mice and birds.

I'd like to feel the grass under my paws.

Why won't these people let me out?

How did I get trapped in here?

Poor Oliver...maybe he's thinking other things.

I'm so glad I'm in here and not out there.

These people give me food twice a day and I don't have to do anything to get it.

I get to be growled at by that older cat.

That other cat sometimes plays with me. And she sometimes hisses at me too.

I get to sleep on top of a bed.

These people here play with me.

I think he's pretty content here, but you just never know for sure. He likes to get in this basket and sleep. It's usually empty, on purpose, so he can use it.

I just wish I could read his mind. I hope that he's happy here and that we're not depriving him of things. But he sure makes me wonder when he lies by that door, just staring outside.