The great deck experiment

One of the things I love about my apt is the deck. One wouldn't expect to have such a nice deck in a studio apt but the owner built it for himself and because the building is on a hill he was able to build a deck off of the kitchen. The door to the deck even has a doggie flap so Ramona can go in and out at will. She loves being out there. Since she is getting up there in age, it is nice I can afford her this pleasure. Since the arrival of Henry we have had to modify this a bit. We cannot leave the screen door open because we do not want him to escape through the doggie door. This has forced us to put up a doggie gate infront of the doggie flap so we can keep the door open. Stepping over this gate to get to the deck has become quite a challenge for my short legs and I imagine I will fall and break my nose at some point this summer.


On the weekends Mel and I like having our coffee and breakfast on the deck and Ramona usually joins us. Henry feeling left out has taken to climbing the screen door or hurling himself onto the screen so the door swings open with the hope of freedom.
As you can see here...

After much discussion we jointly decided to see if he can handle being on deck with us without running for the hills. It had been a slow, harrowing process. We do not really want an outdoor cat and he can definitely get off my deck, other cats have gotten on it. So we trepidatiously watch him explore, get close to the edge and walk along the railing hoping he chooses us over chasing a bug, squirrel or other creature on his way to freedom. He needs to remember he cannot attack our feet at will if he takes off. It is a work in progress, and might just send Mel to an early heart attack.