Shortly after joining our family, Jack took the position that I should never leave the house.
As I work from home, this was an issue less often than you might think.
However, the above picture captures the heart-wrenching scene I faced every time I left the house. What wasn’t heart wrenching was what went on before I managed to get out the door.
Jack wanted me to stay home and Jack is a cat determined (always) to get what he wants.
His initial strategy to keep me in the house was to yell loudly and throw himself in front of the door — a yowling kitten barricade. As Jack is a naturally garrulous fellow, I barely noticed the yelling. And as even the most fiercesome of kitten barricades is still made of, well, a kitten, I would simply step over him and leave.
Recognizing his failure, Jack took a more forceful approach. Any time I would even approach the door, Jack would wrap himself around my leg… and bite. Hard. No amount of scolding or sprays from the water bottle would dissuade him.
I took to wearing jeans whenever I left the house.
Eventually, Jack resigned himself to the fact that I do, sometimes, leave the house — but I always come back.
