Outdoor Cats

Nowadays, it's frowned on to have an outdoor cat. If you're adopting from the humane society, they will disqualify you as a potential owner for saying that you won't keep them indoors. It was the same for the place I got Kieran, and where my mother and brother got Cassidy.

The present opinion of experts is that this form of ownership creates too much risk for stress, disease, and injury coming from exposure to the elements, as well as malicious animals and humans. Me and Lee-Anne follow this line of thinking and keep our guys indoors, even though it's tempting to give into their pleas to follow their animal instincts into the world beyond the kitchen window.

Because we are so up to date on the recent studies, it is our right to turn up our noses in judgement when we see evidence of owners that have not done likewhys. But I must confess, it's pretty gratifying to get to know the neighbourhood cats.

There's a big tabby named MJ who sits on the porch of his owners. He's extremely social and will often let out a high pitched mew and wander to the bottom of his front steps to be patted and scratched. Despite being quick to approach, he won't follow you far.

It's always funny to see him come up to other people in the neighbourhood. He treats everyone with fairly uniform affection, but most people seem to think they have a special relationship. I saw a post on the Kitchener subreddit with a photo of him, asking if he was a stray. There was a flurry of posts naming him and assurances that he was cared for.

We learned MJ's name when his owner was outside with him one day. We asked for the name of the cat but forgot to ask for the man's. Despite the initials usually being a shorthand for "Mary Jane", apparently MJ is a male cat.

This is Bell, maybe Belle. Like MJ, he's a boy cat with a feminine name. He comes from a home with a few small children and their house flies the Progress Pride flag. So I imagine a scenario where the parents let the kids give the name, and when, not yet biased by gender norms, they suggested "Bell", they went with it instead of encouraging something more traditional.

Bell is friendly, but not quite as outgoing as MJ. He'll watch you from a distance, and if you call him, he'll approach with caution. He often goes on walks with his family, who also own a dog.

Every once in a while, Finn and Kieran will get into a row with something in the backyard. Very different reaction to how they acted when introduced to Castor and Pollux. Eventually I learned that the outdoor entity is usually Bell. He's got a wider range in terms of territory compared to MJ. Now when I shoo away the invader, I call him by name.

There's another cat that is often in proximity to Bell. They're a bit smaller with longer fur. A bit more shy but with some coaxing I've managed to give it some pets. I don't know the name of this one. One time, it jumped down from a tree when I was walking by and startled me.

Far up the Iron Horse Trail, there is a black cat that greets passers by. Possibly more affectionate than MJ, it will meow and pressy face, bask around on the ground and show its tummy. I've struck up conversations with other trail walkers about this cat, as it's so well known and trusting. A curious trait considering the area territory is a high traffick place for dogs.

During our first year in the nieghbourhood, we used to see this grey cat a lot. Just as affectionate as the black one, but it's been a while. Hopefully, the owner just moved away.

We met this multi-coloured cat outside the cherry festival last year. It was very affectionate, but this was just a one-off encounter. We don't spend as much time in that area though, and we're going again this year, so maybe we'll see this guy again.