While we were away in Amsterdam for three days and nights, one of Ingrid’s friends took care of Nysse. He couldn’t be here all morning and all evening, of course, so Nysse had to stay indoors for those days. Otherwise they’d likely just keep missing each other: Nysse wouldn’t know when the human is here and might arrive just after he leaves, for example, and then have no chance to get any food or water at all.

We bought some new cat toys for Nysse to make the three days feel less like imprisonment. He reportedly enjoyed each one for a while. But he really didn’t want to be an indoor cat. On the evening of the third day, the moment the door opened, he ran out as fast as lightning. A big part of it was probably because he much prefers pooping outside to using the litter box. And this is the cat who initially had to be carried and coaxed outside!

The toys now mostly languish unused. The fake-mouse-on-a-string can be fun for a few minutes, when someone dangles it in front of him and makes it come alive. But Nysse almost never plays with anything on his own. The wide world outdoors is much more interesting; the house is for eating and sleeping and cuddles.