The clueless cat...& the deck

The cat is Friskie. A large 18 pounder, mature... immature..14 year old Main Coon.One would think that a kitty this big and old is in the prime of his life. A seasoned hunter capable of stealthily stalking any prey and dispatching it with one swipe of his fat paw.
Friskie for some reason however retired from this profession many years ago and took up eating and sleeping as his main interests.

He still goes out and makes the occasional attempt to nab a squirrel or bird but he gallops like a camel and makes no attempt to sneak up on his target... as if he was wearing some type of cloaking device rendering him invisible. The squirrels and birds sit above his head, chatter and chirp their insults, literally laughing at his technique.

There's another problem. Friskie has no sense of where he is going... let alone where he's been.

We have a pool in the yard surrounded by a deck which is completely sealed to ground level. There is about 18 inches of clearance underneath between the deck and the ground. Just enough for a fat tabby to fit in.

Friskie has found an entrance into this space and I'll be damned if I can figure out where he is getting in. He gets in alright but can't retrace his steps to get out. He sits their meowing pitifully for help until we open the skimmer access trap and lure him out. I have left the trap open for him and he still cannot figure out to make his way to the trap door.

It's been three episodes of "Lost Friskie" and counting.You would think that after nine hours of sitting in the dark he would have learned his lesson or established some sort of familiarity with this area. I can just see all the local critter inhabitants laughing amongst themselves.."Hey its that dumb cat again...what a maroon !)

To get him out requires all sorts of cooing and baby talk..,usually in the middle of the night wearing our best reindeer pajamas and rubber rain boots. Eventually I have to climb down amongst the worms and woodbugs and guide him out.

It's a good thing Friskies positive traits outweigh his negatives. He's a big fat lovable lug who loves being petted and scratched plus his daily antics keep us laughing and amused.