Do you have pangs of guilt when you walk out the door to run an errand, visit someone, go jogging, or, heaven forbid, leave on a trip? If your cats are like mine, they know when you’re getting ready to leave and they react—most likely with those sad stares that you interpret as, “You’re leaving me? How can you do that? 
I’ll be all alone…” And if you’re like me, you tell your kitty, “I’ll be right back. I love you.” Or “Mommy has to go get your food. Okay, I’ll bring you a toy, too. I won’t be long. You go take a nice nap and wait for me.”
Or “Yes, honey-britches, I’m going on a trip. Mommies have to get away sometimes, but I’ll be back. Kathy and Valerie are coming to visit you,” I say cheerily. “You’ll have fun. They’ll play with you and pet you and feed 
you. You’ll be just fine and I’ll be back, I promise.”
How much of that do you think your cats understand? Well, it makes me feel better.
Do you think your cats wait patiently for your return? Do they sit on a window sill watching for you or do they curl up and sleep. I envision Olivia curling up in a ball 
and mourning us.
Some cats become terrors when their people are gone—getting into all sorts of mischief like teens left alone.
How do they react when you return? If they peer at you from under
a chair or from around a corner, it’s possible that they have been into some sort of mischief. Don’t worry, you’ll find it—eventually.
Maybe they avoid you when you return—snubbing you, wriggling away from your overtures?
Or do they greet you excitedly when you walk in the door? Yeah, that’s our dream, but they are cats after all.
When I return home from an errand or walk or trip, I get something in between these. It depends on how long I was gone. Sometimes Olivia is waiting at the window when we return. Other times we don’t see her for a couple of hours after we get home. She has a spot under the bed where she likes to hang out when she wants to worry us or make a statement. One thing that seems to be consistent with a cat is that they aren’t—consistent that is.
If your cat’s like Olivia, you can’t second guess her reaction. You don’t know which purrsonality you’ll find when you return home after being gone. All I do know is that I love coming home to Olivia no matter her mood. She eventually comes around and forgives.
