Minding My Own Business

So, I'm sitting in my living room minding my own business, reading a book a few nights ago.  The doggy door flap makes a sound and I look over.  Oreo is standing just inside the doggy door and something doesn't look right to me but I can't quite put my finger on what it is that is off.  Then, it dawns on me.  Oreo is curled up next to me with his body up against my leg, it's not him that I'm looking at at the doggy door.  I touch him next to me, just to be sure.  When I feel Oreo I have an intake of breath that startles the animal in my house, causing them to dart back out of the doggy door, while it awakens Oreo, alerting him to the fact that something is off.  The animal was a cat, a kitten even.

Oreo darted to the doggy door and I guess the cat was just outside because he wouldn't go out it but he was barking like he was in attack mode.  I went to go make sure the cat left my property and there's something about that that emboldens Oreo.  He darted out the back door past me but thankfully the cat was gone.

Here's the deal, I've lived in this house for 20 years this week.  I only lived here a few months when I got my first doggy door.  And, to the best of my knowledge, this is the first time any animal that wasn't mine used the doggy door.  Well, except for Harley - that's how I met him.  But he was in the house when I got home from work one day, not entering when I'm relaxing at the end of the day.  Not to mention that he ended up being mine.  (That won't be the case with the cat.  Not because I don't like cats but because I don't think Oreo would do well with a cat in the house. Also, this cat looked healthy and well fed so I believe it has to belong to someone - possibly someone who also has a doggy door.)

The event scared the crap out of me.  But, I guess it's a good way to get your heart rate up, if that's what you want to do.  As a side note, I blocked off the doggy door for the night but Oreo still watched it like a hawk for hours after the event.  😸