[zambonigirl]

Cats are not easily watchable. They are tricksey little hobbitses who like to climb and hide and spend lots of time *away* from you. All of my cats have been little cuddley hobbitses who actually enjoyed human contact, but they still liked to be away from us for most of the time. They all got out at times. Our last cat, who died last year, would just take it into her head that she needed to go outside about once or twice a year, and while I would have two armsfull of groceries, she'd slip out between my legs, and then sit down on the door mat and sniff at it. I was lucky that it was all she did. My other cats would also escape as we were coming in, and they'd run off as fast as they could. Maybe not everyone in the world has a cat with wanderlust, but all four of mine did at some point or another, and that's either a very large coincidence, or it's pretty typical.

I also need to mention that none of my cats ever had actual access to the outside world. Being a stalwart SoCalsian, I'm an apartment dweller, and all I have for a "backyard" is a balcony. I am very thankful that all of my cats were fixed in their lifetimes.