Cathouse

January 2006

Tonight's rising moon was remarkably big, bright, and orange. The sky is very clear, and the air is still and cold. It's going to get chilly overnight. The half-wild tomcat who lives on the porch will spend the night in his cathouse, if he has any sense.

I built his nice little cathouse. It has a small round door and he can go in and lie down on his blanket on the first floor if he wants. Or, once inside, he can go through another opening to the second floor of his house. All of his house is insulated, but if he goes to the second floor, he will be extra warm because I tacked down a foil emergency blanket covered with a scrap of carpet on the floor and then gave him an old sweatshirt to sleep on. His body heat will be conserved from all directions and he won't feel much cold air from the door.

I do see him lying on his first floor blanket frequently, but I've never had reason to suspect that he has been to the second floor. Maybe it's so well enclosed that it feels like a trap to him.