The Cat Is "Out"

This is the sign my brother and I set out for each other to let us know Bartleby's current status. Now that she is secure in her position as ruler of the household, she sometimes desires to return, temporarily, to the wild (meaning the front walk with an occasional foray to the upper reaches of the driveway). Usually, these excursions last no longer than it takes us to go to the mailbox and back but, every now and then, she'll decide to stay out.

Since our schedules (My brother's and mine, that is. Bartleby keeps her own.) hardly overlap, and one or the other of us is either away or asleep at any given time, the use of the sign obviates the need to search for the cat.

Why is it necessary to search for the cat in the first place? Because she has the unfortunate habit of fouling wherever her favorite spot is and then abandoning it. She's barred from entering either my bedroom or bathroom.

She refuses to enter my brother's room, in which she used to live. We don't know why. He's searched. It is what it is.

She tried to take up residence on the dining room table but after repeatedly being hollered at by both of us has finally taken the hint and abandoned that idea.

For a while, she parked herself on the entryway rug right by the front door where we would be sure to trip over her when coming home in the dark, but she horked up a hairball there and, despite the rug being thoroughly cleaned (or perhaps because of the cleaning?) she's given up her career as speed bump.

Recently, Bartleby figured out how to open the below counter kitchen cabinets and has been exploring caches of pots and pans and various serving dishes that are only taken out once or twice a year for holidays and birthdays. I came home recently, and feared something had happened isnce I could find neither her nor my brother. My brother, it turned out, had merely gone shopping early. Bartleby had managed to open the pantry door and ensconced herself half in/half on an empty cardboard box on the floor next to the bowl of onions.

Even when the cat is in, the cat is out.