Tucker Says, "No, Thank You."

Since I won’t be testing Cammie with the leash and harness outside, Tucker is the last of my beasts to brave the outdoors. I know the Trout Towne Tabbies were wondering if he would have his chance, and he has. It did not go well.

Tucker, like the others who have experienced it, had little bother with the harness. It is light and though I have it secure around them, it is not uncomfortably tight. This was not enough, however, to persuade the roly poly to enjoy his time outside. He lasted a little longer than Renn did; he looked about and, for a moment, I thought the interest he briefly exhibited in his surroundings would carry him on. It did not. He crouched, his tail tucked under him, and started crying. I tried to soothe his fears, but he was having none of it, so I brought him back inside.

Once safe within the cosy apartment, the roly poly was a happy cat. He purred, scratched at a cat-tree and rubbed against me. He was certainly no worse for the abbreviated span he spent in unfamiliar surroundings. But he made it clear that he was not an outsider-cat, no matter how much he may have looked to be longing to change places with Parker, when he saw the latter walking in the sunshine one day.

Parker remains the only one of my cats who wants to go outside. He loves it; smelling the breezes, trying to eat the grass and sometimes running. The orange boy cries with excitement as we walk along together. As far as Tucker is concerned, though, the whole outdoors can be Parker’s playground. He will remain inside.