Romeo, Go Away!

Our next door neighbors have two cats who are basically outdoor cats (they seem to go inside for meals, but that’s about it.)  This means that in addition to our two indoor cats, we have two yard cats as well, since the next door neighbors’ cats do not respect our property lines.

This is really annoying.  Before I was a cat owner, I was and am a big fan of songbirds, and thus have taken to heart the fact that it only takes one or two outdoor cats to decimate the songbird population of an area.  My cats have thus never set foot outside in their lives, except in a carrier.  On the one hand, I get why some people might have a problem with this—my cats have rather narrow habitats.  But on the other hand, I can’t imagine opening the door and letting a pet outside and not knowing where it is and if it is okay.  It is against the law to let dogs roam, so why is it different for cats?

What is even more annoying is that Romeo, the neighbor’s cross-eyed flamepoint Siamese, is always hunting and killing and leaving small heartbreakingly dead things on our property.  Little bats, moles, mice, birds, you name it and Romeo will kill it if given the chance.  This morning Sean came inside after bringing out the trash and told me not to look outside.  My first panic was that Romeo had gotten one of a pair of gray catbirds that I am very fond of (this male catbird is a virtuoso singer.  He sits on a branch outside my bedroom window and sings a song that’s a ribbon of beauty).  But my catbirds are safe for now.  What Romeo did kill was a tiny week-old baby rabbit—I mean, really, where is the sport in that?  Who couldn’t hunt and kill a baby rabbit?

So now war has been declared; one of us plans on purchasing a large water gun and dousing a certain wall-eyed Shakespearean hero the next time he comes looking for his Juliet. 

Dorothy doesn't want to know what is happening outside right now.