Cat crisis

Our family cat Ernie (named after Mr. Cub - Ernie Banks) apparently followed someone out the door unnoticed yesterday and ran away from home. He is an indoor cat, but likes to go outside whenever he is fast enough to get by us so he can sniff around and eat some grass. But, with no front claws he is obviously not equipped to handle life on the outside.

Ernie is 6 years old this month (which based on my estimate of 6 cat years to 1 human year based on life expectancies of each would be like turning 36 for one of us). Now, 36 seems to be a little early for a mid-life crisis (I don't feel like I'm 4 years away from flipping out and buying a Corvette convertible - no matter how much my brother might want me to). And really, what can drive a cat to a mid-life crisis. Does he not feel like he is successful enough, or maybe he is upset that he didn't get enough "tail" when he was younger (again, an indoor cat that was the victim of a never ending Bob Barker quest to eliminate the world of unplanned breeding in the animal species).

Whatever drove him to this act of lunacy was apparently short-lived. My wife found him this morning in the window well of our basement window. He was scared, tired, and his paws were a little sore from gallivanting around the town all night, but he will recover. I am still amazed that a cat that has never been more than 50 feet away from the house in his life can still have the skills to find his way home after wandering into uncharted territory. Especially after rainstorms yesterday afternoon would have washed away any scent he left behind as he walked away.

All's well that ends well.