Brian comes into the house (it's trash day, we have a dumpster and he pushes it out to the street, then starts emptying the trash from the house that's still needs to go out) and asks "have you seen Bobby?"
Come to think of it, no, I haven't. I go into the backyard and start calling him. No Bobby. Well, Brian said he saw a cat jump onto the dumpster when it was against the garage door and he thought to himself "that cat looks really healthy; it looks like Bobby".
I go out front and start calling Bob. This cat runs off of the bank and up to us, under my car. Brian picks him up. Yeah, it was Bobby, good thing he's one of those "ooh, you called me, maybe I'll get a scritch or two". Brian carries him inside and I go out back and start doing the perimeter walk, checking tree branches, problems with the fencing, looking for how he got out. A palm tree down by the pool will need to be cut down, the fronds are strong enough and tall enough now that a cat could get out (the same type of tree that helped the last escape, Skippy). Another thing I check for is anything new. New attracts kitty attention.
And I see new. Brian was working on a door job last week and had large sheets of plywood that he used for boarding up the opening. This plywood was now resting against the side of the house. Right below a window with a screen. And right above that window is the roof. Easy for a limber cat to make the climb. I tell Brian what I think. He comes out and looks at it. He shakes his head. He moves the plywood.
A little later I'm watching Bobby. He climbs the plywood, looking up at the roof as he does it. He's done it before, maybe he can do it again. He can't. No screen and the roof is quite a bit higher at this point.
It amazes me when people say animals are stupid and can't think. This cat checked out something different, saw an opportunity and took it. And he remembered.
What a smart kitty.
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