Make a Wish Foundation...for Cats

Knox submitted an application to the Kitty Make a Wish Foundation. His wish is to be an outdoor kitty. We have long struggled with raising Knox and Madison as indoor cats. Most vets and pet advocates promote an indoor life for felines because life expectancy is longer due to lowered exposure to disease, other animals, cars, evil people, etc. However, all the great fun in a cat's life is OUTSIDE! Cats long to chase squirrels, scratch on trees, hide under bushes, and stalk birds and bugs. They make due by staring longingly at the windows and smelling the fresh air through mesh screens us humans stick on windows to keep those very fun objects out of our lives. Every spring, in particular, I try to ignore Knox and Madison's meows for permission to be freed and their pleading stares to be allowed a moment of outdoor time. It tears at my heart, but so does the thought of losing them prematurely.

Now that we are faced with that prospect for Knox I have chosen to grant him his wish (with a few parameters). I strive to take him out daily and he LOVES it. He has developed a routine around the neighborhood, slinking under certain bushes, smelling particular plants, and rolling around on the warm pavement. He seems indifferent to the small constraint on his activities imposed by the leash (and his hovering mother). We've stopped short of free-reign, but that may be on the horizon.

In the meantime, it warms my heart to be fulfilling this wish for him.

(Madison seems somewhat indifferent, or perhaps she's being sensitive, to the fact that Knox is allowed this freedom but she is not. Walking two cats simultaneously is like, well, herding cats.)

(In other news, Knox continues to do very well. His white blood cell count is low, but that is to be expected with the chemo.)