Because I’m wondering if that is in fact what my cat did last night.
We were asleep so I will never know.
He was snoozing in the lounge when we went to bed and when we woke up this morning he was outside our front door which is lacking in the cat flap department.
Before I explain more, let me introduce you visually to my furry three legged friend, Tripod..
I have mentioned him in my blog on many an occasion, but never posted a picture.
Maybe I am biased because he is mine but I do think he is the most adorable cat that ever was. I feel so close to him, it is almost like I went through the most vicious labour for days to give birth to him…
… and I have to hold back from asking on occasion “Do you think he has my eyes?”
But back to the event in question.
This morning.
I stumbled out of bed in a Saturday morning type fashion. Arms out horizontally forming a radar for locating the coffee pot and remnants of yesterdays mascara encircling my eyes giving me a kind of deranged Gothic look.
I made the coffee and called in Frenchy for his fix. He appeared from the bedroom scratching his….head and we sat down to discuss our plans for our day.
In between the pauses in our conversation, I was sure I heard the faint cry of a cat in the distance. Not from our flat.. no, definitely not. It seemed to be coming from an external source.
“Did you hear that?” I asked Frenchy after a couple of sounds confirmed I wasn’t hearing things.
“It sounds like a cat” He answered.
“Where’s our Tripod?”
“Probably behind the curtain in the bedroom, if not in the laundry” He replied, experienced in the current Tripod haunts.
I heard the cry again. Is it coming from under the floorboards? Has someone buried a cat beneath our Parisian Parquet? Surely not.
The cry came again with a distinct warble to it that I immediately recognised. I got up and searched all popular Tripodeon chill out areas of the moment.
Behind all curtains. Nothing.
Laundry. Nothing but unmatched soiled socks and other atrocities.
I started calling his name. Rien. I have to add that our flat is small and not easy to get lost in.
I heard the cry again.
Frenchy and I looked at each other in disbelief.
“Bloody hell, It’s coming from outside the front door!” I exclaimed.
I ran down the corridor and opened the front door to find Tripod circling the landing and the neighbours standing at their front door in matching nightwear looking at me .. not looking my best.
I picked him up and explained in my version of French, that I had no idea how he got outside the front door. Cat teleportation had not been invented yet, his inability to walk through walls and not being tall enough to reach the latch on the front door etc….
They looked at me and nodded, then explained that he had been out there all night.
Could they not have rung the doorbell to let us know? More importantly how the hell did he get out there?
We live on the first floor. He doesn’t go out as the Hound Of Hell Gardienne of our block would go mental at the thought of our three legged friend wandering around the courtyard. She has even banned pigeons from entering, I am still trying to find out how she has managed that.
I carried Tripod back in and set him down, he flopped on the floor legs outstretched, looking like an exhausted cocktail stick.
Frenchy and I held a house meeting to work out how this unusual feline escapolgy situation happened. The result of the debate ended up with the decision that he had in fact, jumped.
Did I mention that we live on the first floor of our block and there is a good 9 ft drop from our window to the ground? Well I’m mentioning it again for effect.
Just so that you can envision it;
Our window is the window above the shuttered one, the one on the first floor, the one that is not near the ground.. Just so as we are clear..
Also, just so we can see the birds eye view of what Tripod saw as he kamikaze’d himself off the window ledge,
Check this out;
A fearless feat for a feline with a handicap wouldn’t you say?
I was torn between feelings of concern and a distinct feeling of pride for having such a talented pet.
I am so glad he is ok. We will have to take more care when the window is open in future.
But what a clever thing! No wings, no Super Hero flying cape, no helium inflated insides… Just a cat with a mission, flinging himself into the unknown, taking a chance, feeling the fear and doing it anyway.. and not letting a handicap get in his way.
Tripod, I admire you… Just don’t fucking do it again all right???
Maybe you should change his name to Houdini. Or Supercat.
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no it’s.. tripod : )
Good on him for throwing caution into the wind, that’s the only way to get over the fear I reckon.
And I have to say, I feel the same way about my cat. He’s actually mum’s so I feel like he’s the brother I never had and treat him that way. Fights and all : )