It’s time to take the cat for a walk

Many regular readers know about our cat, Finn. He’s not a normal cat, by any stretch of the imagination.

I’ve called him “Satan” in the past for his devilish nature when he doesn’t get his way, but now that we let him out most evenings, he has pretty much calmed down.

Of course, getting neutered took away a bit of his edge as well.

But he’s still crazy.

Case in point is when he’s outside at night and he spots one of us. He’ll walk with us for a bit. Actually, he’ll run, wait in “stealth” as we walk by, and run past us again.

And it’s not just for a few yards.

Mary and Brenna, my wife and daughter, went out for a walk recently in the evening. Finn was out and about at the time. When he spotted them, he opted to join them – for the full walk around the block in the neighbourhood.

As mentioned, he’d run past them at high speed, crouch in the grass to wait for them to catch up, and then sprint past them, only to lie in wait. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Earlier this past fall, he walked with Brenna and her boyfriend, Matt, almost out of the neighbourhood. They kept going and he either gave up or got bored.

And when Finn wants in – or out – everyone hears about it. The same is true when he’s hungry or just wants attention.

I’m up at or before 7 a.m. on weekdays. If Finn’s inside, he’ll be outside the bedroom door as soon as he hears me stir.

On weekends, he’ll start to squawk about 7:30 a.m. if no one is up. He did that on a recent Sunday, so I got up to see what he wanted. I went with him to his room and saw that his food dish was empty. I naturally figured he wanted some chow.

Nope. He wanted me to be with him when he used his litter box. Umm….

When he’s outside and wants in, such as when the snow fell Monday night last week, he’ll head to the patio door and meow quite loudly. If that doesn’t work, he’ll move to other doors.

But he’s got other options as well, as he’s found he can peer in most windows in the house.

He has surprised us, and visitors, by hopping up on the ledge and peering in the living room windows, or even better, the bathroom window.

Brenna said he’s gone so far as to seek her out when she leaves her window open. He’ll look inside, and/or meow as loudly as he can to get her attention.

And he’s a loud cat. Quite often, he doesn’t resort to a typical meow, but rather opts to employ a “meowl,” which is part meow and part howl. Heck, he’ll do that just walking down the stairs to the basement after someone lets him in.

Finn just seems to want to announce his presence in his own unique way.

It is said when cats are with other cats, they don’t meow. Only kittens do so to get their mother’s attention.

But when you add people to the equation, cats will meow at their owners. Finn takes things to his own level.

Egg burgers

Not everything that comes off the Big Green Egg is extravagant. In fact, it’s that barbecue’s ability to make everyday meals even tastier that I love the most. We had some mega burgers recently, brought over by friends Pete and Arlene. Burgers are simple, but I love them! So did everyone else that night, as six of us ate that evening, and Brenna’s boyfriend Matt enjoyed a second burger later that night, while the rest of us went back for more for lunch the next day.

Something’s not right

I’m having problems with the Egg, however, as the top isn’t lining up properly. There’s actually a gap between the top and bottom of the Egg on one side.

I tried fixing it on the weekend by adjusting the braces that hold everything in place, but I didn’t tighten it up enough. I’ll have to wait for a warm day, light up the barbecue to heat up the ceramic case a bit, and loosen everything before tightening it all back up again.

The gap is letting water into the Egg, and that won’t be acceptable when the really cold weather hits.