Abandoned by the Cat

In the last few months, Annie has spent less and less time with us.  In the summer she is an outdoor cat and it is not uncommon for her to go missing for days.  However, in the colder months, Annie usually spends most of her time inside sleeping.  Since Vivian has become mobile, Annie has wanted less to do with us.  Instead, she has claimed our downstairs tenants as her new home and, if they're not around, the people across the street.

When she comes in for her occasional visit (it was a weekly visit up until Christmas), she eyes the children warily.  Vivian inevitably is super excited to see her and will crawl rapidly towards her until Annie is pinned in a corner.  Then Vivian will squeal in delight and Annie will stiffen and look for an escape route.
I've spotted her around in the past few weeks, once across the street, and she meowed loudly enough to get my attention and then turned around with her back to me.  The other day she was on the downstairs porch waiting outside the tenants' door and would not come with me inside our apartment.

We miss our cat!  I'm hoping as the children grow she'll come back to us.  Trying to trap her in here seems like a cruel punishment.  When the tenants went home for Thanksgiving, we had a trial of Annie coming back.  It didn't go well.  One of them brought her up, I kept Vivian away, and Annie ate her food and went straight back down the stairs, meowing until someone opened the door and let her in.  This cycle continued until they left for the break and she left and stalked across the street, tail high.  Maybe when the weather is warm again she'll feel like returning to claim her outside territory and will come back in.

Annie looking into the bassinet that she had
claimed as her own, only to find a baby sleeping in it.



When Sam started to become mobile and discovered Annie.
Clearly she was not thrilled with this development.

Annie and Sam getting into some kind of trouble a few years ago.