Cat on the deck

From the time she first adopted us, James has been a cabin cat, loving the travel in the truck, hiding at the end of the weekend so she doesn't have to leave. She curls up on our bed, sniffs at open windows, prowls at night, always inside. It never seemed fair that she couldn't enjoy being outside with us, but there have always been dogs around, not to mention families of raccoons, so wandering freely was never an option.

This weekend we decided to initiate her into the world of the cabin deck. We found an old cat harness from a previous cat, and to her great dismay, slid her into it and adjusted it to fit.

For security, we snapped on a retractable lead, and settled her down in Dave's lap. She fussed a bit, then settled down with a big sigh, and started to purr.

She checked out the deck, and we reeled her in when she got too close to the edge. But when we brought out her brown fleece "bucket," she climbed in and didn't move for hours. Even when the rest of the family arrived the next morning, with everyone coming and going, she slept quietly away in the middle of the chaos.