Riley loves to go outside. He does not like snow. This is a problem for him. He has been sitting and staring out the window forlornly. Occasionally he rushes out when the door opens only to find that the snow is indeed real. He loiters for about 30 face-saving seconds and then I call him. He comes back but makes it clear that he is coming because I need him and not because he is too wimpy for snow. I’m not sure in cat circles that coming when your human calls is proper but apparently it is better than wussing out because of the weather.
Freckles loves the snow. She likes to run and jump in drifts. Everything about snow makes her crazy happy.
When I came home from work tonight Riley rushed out only to find that the backyard consisted of a shoveled path with walls of snow higher than him on each side. Seconds later, Freckles came barreling outside. She spotted Riley on the path and charged him. He ran to the gate but his escape route was blocked by snow drifts. Freckles cornered him. She was so excited. “RILEY!!! YOU ARE OUTSIDE!!! IN THE SNOW!!!! DO YOU WANT TO PLAY IN THE SNOW?????” In her doggy enthusiasm for this new turn of events she accidentally body-checked him into a snow drift.
He floundered for a few seconds until he managed to swim out of the drift and found himself back on the path on the other side of the dog. The path was clear back to the door. He took off at high speed. I opened the door and he came screaming past with Freckles in hot pursuit. “RILEY!!! WHERE ARE YOU GOING????? DID YOU KNOW THERE WAS SNOW???? DON’T YOU WANT TO PLAY MORE????”
Poor kitty. He’s needed hugs to get over his trauma.
