Letting the cats out

It is a risk. It really doesn't matter where you live, but the general consensus is the odds of death go way up if your house is near a road. Not only is there the routine death where the cat misjudged a car or truck's speed while innocently crossing the road, but there are dogs and mean humans too. All can be lethal. Add to this some cats think dodging a car's wheel is a game. So they will intentionally play it a few times, until they lose.

I live hundreds of yards from the nearest road and it doesn't get that much traffic anyway. So on the one level it seems safer. Also there are no other humans here. So, again, on the surface letting the cat outside on a country property seems safer.

The reality however is grimmer. Sure the cats are happy because they get to hunt mice, moles, baby groundhogs, and even snakes. However what can be forgotten by both them and me is there other critters. Critters to who the cat is either a food chain competitor or actual food. Weasels, raccoons, fox, coyotes, bears, and even possibly much larger cats.

Last night after their dinner I let my Tom cats out. There is still snow on the ground, but they don't care about that too much after they have eaten. Normally they go into the woods and don't come back for an hour or two. A half hour later when I looked. one of them was huddled under the chair outside the door and looking very worried. When he saw me at the door he demanded entry. This was unusual, but I let him in and he seemed quite happy to be inside. No sign of the other one.

About an hour later I heard a scream. It sounded like a scream of extreme pain, but only vaguely cat like. Grabbing a pistol and a Maglite I went outside in the dark and called for the one still out there. Usually within 4 or 10 minutes (depending on how far away they are) they come at my call. Nothing. I saw nothing. I walked around the house and called again. This time I clearly heard something running away in the woods. I called again and from several hundred yards away I heard something yipping then more brush noise slowly fading. No sign of the cat. Sometimes at night when I cast about with the light I will see two eyes gleaming back and know I have found him. Not last night.

I went back inside and at around the usual time of return, although I was worried, I looked outside a few more times and called his name. Finally he showed up. I half heartedly scolded him. He seemed fine, but he was wet. I put it down to snow and let him in.

This morning however his back was still wet. A quick taste, salty, blood. I washed his back in hydrogen peroxide (he hates that, but not today). Much foaming that blotted pink on a paper towel. Examination shows several punctures and evidence something had tried to grab him. He overall seems none the worse. Now however, I am wondering about what I heard. I think it was him screaming like that. I think the yipping was his attacker running away from me. There is enough time lag between the scream and my going out behind the house, that either the fight had already ended, or they had been locked in a wrestle hold till my very presence intervened and the other animal fled. I know this cat and I have seen him chase after other stray cats before when I break up the fight. I think whatever it was, the odds were about 50/50 and when the attacker fled, he pursued till he got tired of it and came home.

He may disagree, but I think he is very lucky and that I nearly lost him. I will not let him out tonight and will instead focus on his injury. Still he will be allowed out tomorrow.

Always when we let our cats out, there will be risk.