Hairy Houdini Strikes Again

Caesar supervising

Caesar is still doing well, although we are thinking of renaming him. Hairy Houdini seems appropriate. It’s been nearly three months since he had the attack, and despite our best efforts, he has managed to get out four times. Okay, we got lucky and he didn’t get further than the yard, but it could have been a lot worse.

It’s heading into summer here, and keeping all the windows closed is problematic, to say the least. We tried leaving the storm windows open and he got out twice in one day.

Storm window

I can see how he could climb up the burglar bars, but how to get out from there…

This is a cat with poor balance and worse vision.

The front yard is dreadful – there are any number of places to get out. We give him a walk in the front twice a day, but it’s eyes on all the time.

Our back yard has high pre-cast walls – a bit under six foot. We try and let him have as much freedom out there as we can. I can’t have eyes on him all the time, but I check every few minutes. He got out here too, with the assistance of a useful chair.

A useful chair

He jumped from the armrest to the top of the wall. This time I saw him do it, and I went pounding across the yard at my best speed, visualizing him running along the wall and falling into someone else’s yard. This is South Africa, many people have big dogs. I managed to scoop him off, much to his disgust.

The chair has been moved, and by heaven he found another way out. There was some stuff in a corner, and he got up onto the wall from there. When I realised he was gone, he was gone – as in nowhere in sight. I didn’t know where he’d got out, and went around calling frantically. I heard him miauing and then saw him coming along the top of the wall.

This time he was very pleased to see me and grabbed on tightly when I put him on my shoulder.  (He likes to lie over people’s shoulders, draped like a dishrag) He didn’t want to get off for ages, so I think he scared himself. However, I wouldn’t bet a cent on him not trying again. You can see him walking along and looking at the top of the wall while the tip of his tail twitches. A man with a plan.