Maura’s wearing an Elizabeth collar since his Christmas day vet visit and can’t safely go outside by himself. The doctor prefers him not to go out at all, but that’s not practical; his litterbox is the big wide world. And he gets salty and destructive when his freedom is impinged.
Fortunately (and unexpectedly) Maura seems to be okay going for walks in a halter and a lead. I explained to him that he can take charge and decide where we go, but that I have to stay on the path because I am big. If he insists on going into the forest, the walk is over and I will carry him home.
WHITE ROUTE
The first day back from the vet, Maura did a tour of the property and tested the rules. And all the walks since then have been delightful. They are places the cats clearly know well, but I didn’t realise.
These walks have mainly been at midnight and pre-dawn. With the full moon, it’s been simply glorious, even if it disturbs my rest. If I don’t harness him up and go out for a walk, Maura disturbs my rest by trying to escape the house. Walks are much nicer.
YELLOW ROUTE
On the first midnight walk, Maura led me up to the forested hilltop where the Oyama Senmaida school programs build things with bamboo. Along the way, he stopped to sniff and leave his scent, scratch on fallen branches, and to listen to the sounds of the night.
The path was well lit by the moon and it was like a scene from a fantasy novel – my familiar leading me into adventures. Fritter was our sidekick, running ahead and exploring the fringes of forest.
The next morning at 5:30, we took the same route. Maura led us, confidently striding along the path in his harness. Fritter galloped along rushing ahead, then falling behind so he could run again. Beryl came too, leaping into trees and making side quests.
Although the destination was the same, the sky was completely different. As the moon set in the west, the sun rouged the eastern sky. At the top of the hill among the makeshift bamboo structures, I saw both at once. It was a magical way to start the morning.
RED SPUR
We went a bit further on the morning walk before turning around, and Beryl didn’t follow us back. When she hadn’t returned home within a reasonable amount of time, I went back to look for her – two hours later she was standing right were I’d last seen her. She seemed relieved when I appeared and happy to be carried home. She meowed at me the whole way – what a storyteller! I didn’t think cats could get lost, but I think she knows her limits and has been sticking closer in all the walks since then.
Beryl is not the only one who gets a little lost. Fritter’s concept of walking is to run at full speed, then sit down for a rest. It works well enough when we are all walking, but when I pick up Maura and carry him, the pace picks up and Fritter loses track of us. I have to remember to call him, or shine the light so he can see my face, otherwise he gets confused and starts to howl sadly, even when he knows the way home.
PINK SPUR
Maura tested my rules again on our sunset walk last night- he ambled down a steep hill, which had enough path for me to walk, and then tried to head into the dense forest, which definitely did not. He really tugged at the lead and wanted to keep moving down the hill. I ended the walk there and carried him back up the hill in my arms, slipping on the gravelly earth on the steep hill and almost dropping him.
BLUE ROUTE
At 4:30 this morning, Maura picked a different route – we forked to the right at the forest junction and walked down towards Senmaida. It was our longest walk yet.
As we walked up the driveway, he did something strange. He dashed forward, compelling me to run to keep pace, and then stopped suddenly. Each time (he did it four times) he looked up at me to indicate “try a little harder.” I was confused by his behaviour. What was he testing?
It all came clear when we were all the way down at Senmaida. A car approached on the road by the terraced fields. Run from the car, stop, and hide. He had a plan from the beginning and he needed to make sure I’d be able to go along. Damn, he is a smart cat.
I foiled his plan, though and put a stop to the roadside saunter when we got past the last Kristen-safe turn up into the woods. I have no idea where Maura was headed, but if we’d continued, I would have had to go through a tunnel to get home. With Maura and Fritter and Beryl? Nope. Not a good idea.
Maura will be wearing the collar at least until his next vet visit on January 4th, so there are numerous walks to come.
