Bun's Supervised Walkabouts

Make no mistake, this is The Summer of Bun. We've been taking her outdoors once or twice a day on what I like to call "supervised walkabouts." We don't let her out of our sight and stay within a few yards of her--she seems to want us to follow her around and act as her entourage. Bun mostly noses around the patio, where she monitors the comings and goings of chipmunks and our big fat woodchuck. (Heh: nosin' aroun'.)

 

Our other two cats don't get to go outside. Hypatia becomes confused, and Quixote simply bolts and gets lost. Bun is the only one we trust, and she's been microchipped. I feel bad about the unfairness of this situation because it calls to mind the opening scene from The Royal Tenenbaums. If our cats were Tenenbaum children, Bun would be Richie (ff to 4:19 to see what I mean, although you really should watch all of this).

 

So I guess that makes me Gene Hackman. Back to the adorable kitty pics.

Bun has spotted a chipmunk!

And I am ruining her chipmunking experience.

Bun spends a lot of her walkabout time lounging in the grass. Please enjoy this Jeff-filmed video of Bun rolling around in the dirt like a grub (sorry it's vertical).

 

This never gets old. Seriously, I could watch that all day.

I wish that blade of grass wasn't blocking her eye!

Impromptu grooming session.

She is so little!

While I took these photos today, something like four mosquitoes bit me, so I wanted to at least get a blog entry from my time outside. Also, for each half-hour that she spends walking about, Bun devotes an equal amount of indoors-time to standing by our patio door and wailing like a banshee because she wants to go out again. It's awful.

But Bun's just so cute when she's outside doing stuff!

All rollin' around on the rocks and everything.

And we're back on chipmunk watch. She pays attention to every sound and movement around her. She spent her kittenhood (before she decided that I should be her mama) outdoors fending for herself, and I often wonder how much she remembers from that time.

After a successful walkabout, Bun settles into her "happy pose" and takes a nap.

Jeff says Bun is more than just a pet. He calls Bun my "animal familiar," and witchay-woman BS aside, I love that idea and know that it is true.

Comments

[Jennarocca]

Your cat is gorgeous.

[Kelly]

I'm gonna tell her you said that, Jenna. :) Thank you!

[Caroline]

KELLY. Bun is so rad. I laughed out loud several times during this, starting with the first photo, which really is beautiful and has the element of Total Bun Surprise.

[Kelly]

CAROLINE. Bun loves you. :)

[Abigail Mogge]

I also take my cat for daily supervised strolls. Glad I'm not the only one. Tried the leash and harness route and it was just ridiculous and humiliating for kitty. She seems so happy to hunt crickets with the wind in her fur. :)