Merlin Lives Dangerously

When I was forced to temporarily relocate my cat Merlin, I thought long and hard about where he could go.  I knew he may have to be gone for a few months, and I wanted him to be happy, wherever he was.  So in the end, I thought the best place for him was my parents' house.  They have experience with cats, my mom is home all day so Merlin would get a lot of attention, and most importantly, I knew if I asked, even though they didn't really want a cat, they would say yes.  We thought at the time it would only be for a couple of months.  But Merlin has been there for well over six months now.  I could understand them wanting him gone, but I thought they'd just ask me to come get him, not take other, drastic measures.

My sweet, innocent Merlin is an indoor cat.  I don't ever let him go outside since there are too many dangers of cars, loose dogs, and other risks.  I knew my parents felt the same way - and even if they didn't, I knew they would keep him indoors since that is what he is used to and that is what I believe is best for him.  At least that's what I thought, until I received these pictures:

Not only was Merlin outdoors, but they had put him in a tree!  Just to take a picture and threaten to make him stay in the tree if I didn't come get him.  Poor, poor Merlin.

He looks so small and helpless.

Doesn't he look terrified?  How could anyone be so cruel... so heartless.... so.... oh, wait.  That's not exactly how it happened.

Okay, fine, the truth is Merlin is not sweet and innocent.  He is sneaky and quite brilliant. He learned how to slide open the screen door to make his escape to the Great Outdoors when no one was watching.  Then, because he's a cat, he decided the best thing in the world would be to go after those birds in the tree.  So he climbed the tree.  And since she's my mom and she knows how much I'd want pictures, my mom went and got her camera and took some photos before trying to lure Merlin down with his favorite canned food.  Which worked... eventually.

Notice how in spite of the canned food my mom is holding in front of his face, Merlin is focusing only on the birds still tormenting him from the safety of the treetops.

 Thanks Mom, for all you've done to keep Merlin safe.  Thanks for not taking any drastic measures to get rid of him, and for saying he can stay as long as needed.   I'm sorry I implied otherwise - it just made for a better story.   I'll come over and help you cat-proof your screen door tomorrow.