Kitty is Crazy Smart...or...Why We're Lucky Cats Don't Have Opposable Thumbs...

Cat walking is still going well. Someone had asked earlier, cat walking is just to give them a chance to be outside and experience nature. They're never going to be allowed outside by themselves because we move so much (every 3-4 years) that I don't want them in the habit of roaming the neighborhood here, where it's safe, only to move to a place with a busier road or is otherwise unsafe. Kitty is still loving it. And she is crazy smart, case in point...

She knows what her collar/harness mean! If I go to the toy basket, where the collars/harnesses are kept and pick them up she comes running, meowing the whole time, and stands close to me and really still while I put her harness and collar on her. She's very polite about going outside, won't go out the door by herself generally (I have to pick her up). Once outside she mainly stays on her stake. When we were finishing up the front garden we staked her out front with us becacuse she was being a pain inside the house, and she was great, even though out front is a lot scarier than our fenced back yard.

She's still a bit of a monster when she comes in if she didn't choose to come in. She knows what door knobs/handles are and does her best to use them. That just means jumping at the handle and trying to hang on to it. She does this while crying very loudly if we're working outside and she's inside. She's only volunteered to come inside once on her own, and that was after she was out for 2 hours. Generally we take her out for 45-60 minutes and that is definitely not long enough for Her Highness.

Elphie still freaks out on the leash, so for now she wears her collar with her information on it and gets to be loose in the backyard. So far she just hangs around the house (and wants back in the house every 20 minutes). If she were to try to escape or start investigating more than the wall of the house she probably won't be allowed out unless someone is holding on to her leash, which means she won't get out as much as Kitty, because I can read while Kitty is out, but not if I'm following Elphie and trying to keep slack in the leash at all times.