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Leaving home . . .

Tomorrow I leave for Florida and a three-week visit with my sister. For a few days now, I have been apologizing to Jack and Cleo, who hate to be boarded. Lucky for them (and me), good friend Pat Rosen has invited them to stay at her house where they will have the company of her three cats, Scout, Smokey, and Lucky. Not sure how Scout, Smokey, and Lucky feel about the invasion of their turf, but they reflect the generosity of their owners and are welcoming to visitors.

Jack enjoys the company of other cats and during the day plays well with them. Unfortunately, at night, at least for that first night, he gets homesick and cries at the front door. Pat has been known to get out of her warm bed and fix him a bed by the door and give him a toy or two to comfort him. I’ve decided to send a favorite blanket with him today so he’ll have something familiar that smells of home tonight when he gets weepy. I might even send the pillow that normally sits here on my office chair because it’s a favorite place for him to sleep — as the picture above shows.

Cleo, more stoic, doesn’t cry for me at night. She has her own problems to worry about. Smokey, who actually looks like Cleo, only bigger, has a huge crush on her and follows her around while she’s visiting. And Cleo wants none of it. Poor Smokey. We all know what it’s like to feel unrequited love.

After the first few days away from me, my cats will settle down and enjoy themselves. Even so, when I return from my trip and go to get them, they will let me know it wasn’t nice of me to go off for weeks by hiding from me and refusing to get into their carriers for the trip home.

I find living with cats to be endlessly interesting and entertaining. Don’t you?