When Cats Enjoy the Good Life: Olga’s Indoor Existence

Hi, I’m Christopher! Read my introduction to learn more about me and my silly Russian Blue cat, Olga.

Although some of them were mummified and buried with their owners, cats in ancient Egypt generally led privileged lives. The pharaohs’ felines had servants to care for them, and some Egyptian deities, like Bastet, were cats. You probably don’t think of ancient Egyptian rulers as peaceful, but they would have been horrified by the ASPCA commercials with abused animals.

When I see skinny, feral cats eating garbage or a dead cat on the side of the road, I realize how lucky Olga is to be a house cat. She doesn’t have a cat tree made of Brazilian Rosewood, a silk cat bed, or a gold water bowl, but she has a good life.

Indoor Freedom

She doesn’t have to hunt for meals or hide food from predators, and she can scratch up her favorite chair as much as she likes. I won't let her tear all my furniture to shreds, but I’m pretty tolerant of her wild behavior.

Besides the outside world, the kitchen counter is the only area off-limits to her. I thought about training her to use a leash and harness, but she wouldn’t be allowed to walk with me around the neighborhood.

Canine Dominance

I feel guilty that she can’t roam outside or walk with me at dawn, but my neighborhood has more dogs than residents, and most of them are large pups. Some of them, like the Chow Chow, go into attack mode when they see me, and I’m lucky their owners can restrain them.

If I were walking with a little gray cat, everyone in the neighborhood would wake up from their dogs barking in the backyard. The dogs walking around with their owners would break free of their leashes and charge toward Olga and the only fool dumb enough to walk his cat. I support the cat-walking movement, but it’s not practical for me.

Exercising Indoors

Until she learns to walk on a harness in my fenced-in backyard, she has to find entertainment indoors. Preventing indoor cats from becoming overweight is difficult, but for now, Olga is healthy and seems content with her exercise program. She plays with her new silver vine stick daily and sleeps on it after enjoying the euphoric effects.

She also likes playing tag, but it’s not much fun for me in the summer when I’m not wearing long pants, and she carves up the back of my leg. However, I don’t get too upset. Since she’s a hunter without prey, she needs to attack something, and inanimate objects can only hold her attention for so long.

Olga’s happy with her dull, temperature-controlled life inside my house. She gets irritated if her dinner is late or I’m not paying attention to her when she’s energized but she doesn’t try to escape when I open the door or care that she’s missing out on the Great Outdoors.

If you watch the video below of Olga kneading my couch, you’ll see her in her most relaxed state, and if you’re not careful, her large, unmoving eyes will put you in a trance.