Whew! Another cat loose in the hall, but this one had a happier and more immediate ending–a darling little mackerel tabby mewing piteously outside our door. Very friendly little critter, not hungry, so I carried him around to the various doors, thinking “Oh, god, not again! Let someone own this one!” And fortunately, the third door I tried was met with a “Oh! I didn’t even know he’d gotten out!” and wayward kitten was greeted with hugs and cuddling. So that was a satisfying end to that.

The fact that we’re moving to an apartment complex without hallways makes me think I should go get pet tags for the cats–I’ve avoided it so far because they are entirely indoor cats and in eight years, Loki got out exactly once. (And huddled by the door whimpering. He’s not an independant soul.) Now, of course I have no intention of making him an outdoor cat–that way lies sick cats, severely shortened lifespans, and dead songbirds, and I could not, in good conscience, ever have an outdoor cat again, unless, against all odds, I get some kind of farm and require mousers on site. (Not something I aspire to.) Here, at least, if one slunk out the door, they’d be still inside the building, and I could grab ’em again easily enough. But since we’re moving to a place where for environmental reasons, the doors spit directly onto the outside world, and they’ll be disoriented anyhow, it might be a good idea, much as they’ll dislike wearing collars this late in life.

On t’other hand, the big threat if they get out will be cars. The coyote population in Tempe is probably not real significant (although I don’t doubt it exists) and the cars won’t stop to check tags. Still, if by some chance they DO get out and evade my rescue attempts, if they’re tagged we might get ’em back, and if they aren’t, we certainly won’t. So maybe I’ll mosey down to Petsmart and get some tags made and see if they can stand them without going crazy.