OPIE GETTING INDEPENDENT

I have been giving Opie lots of time outdoors so he can get fresh air and have more space and can practice climbing up a "tree" I made for him with the fallen tree branches in our yard. He has a favorite "cave" that is an area between 2 boxes and a metal shelf up under the top shelf where he has his “outdoors” sleeping box. He can climb down from his top shelf to a lower shelf where the cats eat outside of the bathroom window, and he can climb down his “tree” to a glass table where I keep a couple of grapes for him. I bring him in each night by coaxing him to me with his supper (except for one night when I let him stay out all night when it was too hot to be in the house.)

One night about 9 PM when I hadn't brought him in yet, Chris yelled at me, "Opie's looking for you." I went down the hall toward the bathroom and there was Opie, peeking into the bathroom from the shelf by the open bathroom window. I walked to the window and leaned my elbows on the window ledge and he climbed onto my shoulder. I took him to his indoors box to eat supper and sleep.

But 2 nights ago, he got out of his “indoors” sleeping box and I had no idea if he were still in the office or if he had gone out the open sliding glass door to parts unknown.

I put food down in the office to see if he would smell it and come get it, but no response. I moved the food to the porch, but still no response. I went around the house to his shelf and there he was looking at me from his "cave". He had never been on the ground in any of that area before, but he had watched closely when I carried him in and out of the office to that area, and he just somehow got out of his box and ran around to his “tree” and climbed all of the way up by himself.

I am such a proud mama.