TBT: Ayla went to the deck stairs to the lawn recently. I am thankful she is feeling that confident about going outside again.
A month or 2 ago (maybe more, time flies), I started seeing her out and around in the house. Then she stood at the deck door looking out. Then the cautiously went out on the deck briefly. Later she actually napped out there and/or sat on the deck rails a few times.
Still, when she stood at the top of the stairs last week and then suddenly proceeded down, I was surprised. She did stop on the lawn at the bottom of the stairs, but mostly to sniff and nibble some grass leaves, and to look around at ground level. She could actually see things there she couldn't from the deck.
I'm hoping that being at "lawn level" doesn't seem like a new experience to her. It has been several years since she went out at all. It crosses my mind that she might have forgotten about "outside" and is re-learning it. She will be 16 on the 17th, and you have to start thinking about a cat's mental health at that age.
However, she is agile, alert, and friendly (to me and Marley). She still jumps 3' to the bathroom windowsill without effort, eats well, and covers her pee and poop (granted that she uses the bathmat and a washcloth as a cover these days). If I put a toy on the windowsill, she will bat it off repeatedly. She joins me on the bed some nights. When I enter the bedroom, she meows to me so that I know where she is.
She even came up on my lap last night (and naturally, the camera was not within reach). Well, I usually keep in the kitchen (pretty much the center of the house). When I'm eating dinner and watching TV later, I usually have it next to me, but sometimes I forget (and of course that was one of those times).
So I am thankful today for Ayla's new-found interest in exploring again and hoping that is a positive sign she will be with me for several more years!
