This has nothing to do with the mouse the other day.

I let my cats out on the balcony.  I keep an ear out and if they start to
make any noise I bring them in.

Years ago Peepers discovered he could get on a couple of boxes outside the
bedroom window and meow lightly to get my attention.  It is so much easier
than getting my attention in the room with me at the computer.

Anyway he makes a sound and I always check and there he is looking up at the
window and me looking back out at him.  I will often reach to the now torn
screen thanks to Smudge and he will reach up with his paw and we will touch.
I will talk and he will meow.  Anybody listening in will think we are crazy.

When the vocal phase is over, I will move away from the window and he will
come in to be petted and brushed and get my full attention.  When I moved
away, he tore in full speed and before I could do more than turn around
Peepers had gone through the living room door to the balcony, raced across
it and slammed into the door out of the apartment (he has very poor brakes),
scrabbled to the bedroom and slammed into the closet wall just inside the
bedroom door ( I did say he had poor brakes) and finally did a cross between
scrabbling across the floor and flying onto the bed.

In the meantime, I rushed over to the bed to pet him although that was
probably unnecessary here as he tears around the bed throwing the blanket,
etc around and as I touch him he tears out then back into the bedroom a few
times ( I think he was too wound up to stop as he must realize the old rules
still apply).  Finally he tore out of the bedroom a last time to go back out
to the balcony where he has been quiet for a while.  I think he forgot that
he was entitled to a good petting or brushing in his excitement.

And there I was left a poor confused human looking for a cat to pet.  I know
this will happen more often as he spends more time on the balcony,  I just
hope he remembers to stop for my er his reward.

Larry Osborne