Be careful what you wish for......

We wished for rain all summer long. Ta-daaaaaah...... it has been raining now for three days. We had been wishing for cooler temperatures since the beginning of May. Ta-daaaaaah.... a cool front has stalled over our Texas sky, and the temperature dropped yesterday from 95 degrees to 78. Bring out the sweaters and long slacks and dig out the box of hot chocolate mix from the pantry, both of which we have already done.

Gatsby, our outside cat, ran into the garage as soon as the temperature dropped past 85. He found himself an empty spot on top of one of the work-tops in there. Well, no cat of mine, inside or outside, is going to be sleeping on a hard Formica counter-top. Out came an old fleece blanket to put on top of that Formica. Out came one of the cat crates which I set out on the end of the counter-top. I put a soft velvet cat-bed into the crate, propped the door of the crate open with a folded-up towel, covered the top and sides of the entire crate with an old tablecloth, and voila!-- Gatsby has a clean, cozy and warm spot to call his own.

I had been hoping he wouldn't pick the inside of the barn as his cold-weather hiding spot. The barn freaks me out a little bit-- too much dirt way in the back of the barn, which means there must be zillions of spiders back there, probably some snakes as well, and heaven only knows what-all else. As soon as I saw that Gatsby was trying to get comfortable in the garage, I pounced into decorating-mode and fixed up a nice safe sleeping box for him. Gatsby seems to approve-- he has been in there sleeping in the crate since the rain started the other day. He will come out to eat on the back porch, making his presence known with a few pitiful meows. By propping open the side door of the garage, he can get in and out on his own and I don't have to worry that he will be wet or cold when the temperature really starts to drop come December and January.

I remember telling my husband that I wouldn't let myself get too attached to Gatsby, being that he's an outside cat and can walk off one day and find himself a new home. He doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. Not only does he have a warm pillow and blanket, but I've been microwaving his canned food since the temperature plummeted to 78 degrees.

Attached? To an outside cat? Not me. =^..^=