Whose cat?

I have two cats. They are sisters but they don't much like each other.

They may sleep close (rarely, and that's the reason I took this photo) but not snuggled up to each other as some cats like to do. Digit is the smooth or short-haired one. Pixel is the one with the long hair that we have to have shaved every once in a while. This is Pixel's favourite hangout during the day. In front of the sliding glass doors in the kitchen on top of her mat that my friend Judy makes and sells. There is a heat register under the mat and the runner so it's a toasty warm spot.

Digit usually snoozes on my husband's lap in the evening but she also takes up space on my legs if I have them up on the couch and covered with a throw. Sometimes Pixel comes over and lays down on me. She's more skittish and leaves quickly for no reason.

They are indoor cats but at times, my youngest son or my husband have been known to 'accidentally' leave the sliding door open in the kitchen so they can stroll around the backyard. Sometimes they are so quick that they leap out or escape just as you are going out. The problem is that they don't just stick to our yard and if they don't come back soon, on their own, I have to call them. Sometimes they are good and they come home when called and other times they take their own time about coming back. I don't like them to be out because I have seen too many cats on our streets that have met their end under the wheels of a vehicle. We also have nasty raccoons that have claws and stinky skunks.

Pixel is sweet but I have known family members to say that Pixel has hissed at them or tried to scratch them. I guess she just loves me because I have never encountered that. I don't tease the cats and I leave them alone when they are sleeping.

One day, not too long ago, while my daughter and I were in the kitchen, I spotted what looked like my little Pixel outside the sliding door looking in - waiting to come in. It's happened before when she has been let out by my husband or son but neither of them were home and my daughter had just come home. I thought that perhaps the basement door was left open but this is winter and no one had been down there. I was surprised to say the least but then I went closer. We have a peninsula in the kitchen and that partially obstructed my view of the whole scene.

This is what was really happening - all I saw at first was the cat peeking in. (Don't mind the overturned chairs. They were put there so Pixel had some peace and some space from a little puppy that was visiting.) It turned out that Pixel was safe inside and there was another cat that looked so much like Pixel and I guess it was curious to see my little kitty on the other side of the windows.

Once my heart got back to normal, I quickly got my camera to take these photos. We had seen the cat in the area before and I had mistaken it for my Pixel before too - calling for her to come in and wondering why it wasn't heeding my call. Meanwhile, Pixel was inside all along.