"Oh goodie.... another cat...."

That must have been what our dog Gracie was thinking when she came face to face with Gatsby, our outside cat. Our neighbors would call Gatsby a "Barn Cat," but I don't think he spends much time in the barn. He loves the porch, which wraps around the whole house, and he likes to spend the hottest part of the day underneath the back deck. There must be a cool spot down there, because when he comes out (yawning and stretching) to have his lunch, he doesn't feel any hotter than a lukewarm piece of toast.

Gracie is used to having cats in her life..... heaven knows we've had more than our share over the course of Gracie's thirteen years with us. If Gracie sees a cat outside, her dog-sense kicks right in and she will chase the cat.... which is exactly what she did with Gatsby the very first time she saw him. Gatsby's paws raced him across the property and he went sailing underneath a board of the Barn that seemed to have been raised up just for his escape.

On each day after that, we put Gracie on her leash so she could see Gatsby but not chase after him. I kept telling Gracie that this gray cat was ours, not a stray anymore. Gatsby must have quickly realized that Gracie was restrained because he just stood his ground and hissed, but didn't make a move to run when Gracie was on the leash. It took a couple of days for Gracie to learn that Gatsby was here to stay, which meant she wasn't allowed to chase it away. ("I knew she didn't mean it when she said NO MORE PETS!')

Yesterday and today, Gracie and Gatsby were nose to nose, just half an inch away.... and Gracie was wagging her tail and sniffing Gatsby's nose and whiskers. I'm wondering if it was a serious hello on Gracie's part, or just a sniffing-exercise to determine what kind of food Gatsby was eating. ("Is she giving you dry food or the good canned stuff? -- And if you're getting the canned stuff, would you like to share?")

Going out the back door used to be so simple: Open the back door inward, open the screen door outward and listen to that wonderful farm-house squeak, and out you go. Not these days. Now we open the back door slowly, making sure that Mickey Kitty and ShadowBaby aren't right at our heels because they want to go outside and see Gatsby ("Whatcha got out there?"), make sure Gracie isn't nose-to-nose with the door because now she knows there is cat food on the back porch.......... and then before you open the screen door you have to make sure that Gatsby isn't right there on the door mat with his whiskers pressed up against the screen because he wants to come inside. ("Whatcha got in there?!")

Two cats wanting to go outside, one cat wanting to come inside. One dog wanting to lick up every bit of cat food in sight. No more pets indeed.