Can't be trusted

He lulled me into a sense of security before he did it.

For several weeks, we had been pleasantly enjoying the outdoors together. Smokey wandering the lush greenness in front of our apartment and me knitting and watching him from the stairs.

Then one day, he did it. At first, I did not feel any need for alarm as I watched him saunter down the path towards the sidewalk. When he had done so in the past, it was to stalk a bird in one of the trees or to tussle in the bushes along the building. This time he walked straight for the cars parked in the street. Before I knew it, he had slipped underneath and disappeared from sight.

I called to him, for in the last week or so he had obediently responded to his name, but this time he turned away from me every time. Damn cat. He wouldn't even respond when I shook his favorite treats. I had to pull out a treat to lure him out.

Smokey was banned from going outdoors for several days. Would he know I was punishing him for trying to go under the car?

When I finally let him out again, he did it again. Well, he tried to. I had been wondering if I was too harsh on him. Maybe it was okay for cats to go under cars. Would it do any harm if he just wanted to lounge?

The test came sooner than I expected. That day, a car pulled into a parking spot just in front of us. I thought, if Smokey decides to go under a car today and he picks the hot car I will ban him from going under cars.

Smokey headed for the hot car. That was a stupid move, Smokey. I grabbed him before he could slip under and might have saved his skin and fur from being singed. Or maybe I just kept him from enjoying a nice warm spot.

A neighbor later pointed out that there could be other things lurking under a car. We have a significant bit of wildlife with the pockets of nature nearby and who knows what feral cats might be around. He could also accidentally snag himself on a car part.

Luckily, after I banned him from going outside for another week, Smokey has not tried to go under any more cars. Does he now know the boundaries, or is he just trying to lull me into a sense of security again? Either way, I'm keeping my eagle eyes on him.