Yesterday evening I was home by myself and I decided to grill up a couple hotdogs. The weather was so nice outside that I decided to also eat them outside as well. That is when a random calico cat roamed into the yard. This was no surprise, as there are many cats roaming free in the streets of Round Lake Park. In the past, whenever we would encounter one of these cats, if we got within 10 feet of them, they would get scared and run away. But this one walked right up to me and my meal of hot dogs. She was friendly and rubbed her head against my leg. She was collarless and I’m not sure where she came from, but she had a nice coat and looked well taken care of. Nonetheless, I named her “Hot Dog” (because I was eating hot dogs at the time) and invited her to come in the house. She was hesitant at first, but eventually walked in the door. She was meowing like crazy, so I didn’t think she wanted to be inside. I decided to give some dog food that was left over from the last time Buddie was over. She gobbled it right up. I then opened the door for her to go back outside. She wouldn’t leave! So I let her hang out for a few hours until Colleen got home from work. Hot Dog explored every crevice of the house and took a nap on my lap while I was on the computer. When Colleen got home, Hot Dog took a liking to her as well. Hot Dog had been in the house for several hours, so I was worried the she was going to piss or shit. As bad as I felt, it was time to send Hot Dog back out on the streets. At least it was a nice night out, so I didn’t feel that bad.

Fast forward to tonight. The back door was open and the screen door was closed. I was upstairs when I heard a meowing. I came downstairs, only to find Hot Dog clinging to the outside of the screen door, Garfield style. She wanted in. I gave her some more food and I’m now sitting outside with her typing this Live Journal post on my laptop.

Is Hot Dog going to come back every night at 9pm? It’s actually kind cool, it’s like we have split custody of someone else’s cat. And we can just throw her outside before she has to do her duty. All the love of a pet without all the excrement!