My husband and I are cat people. Four of the indominable creatures rule our lives, and their rules are simple: only good-tasting food and lots of it, plenty of "kitty snugglers" positioned in the sun spots around the house, and interesting activities for in-between nap times. Their most entertaining activity by far is going out for a walk in the garden. Due to the amount and speed of traffic in front of our house, as well as the fact that our cats won't necessarily return to our calls, they are harness kitties.

Going outside has improved our cats' vocabulary. If you look at any of our cats and ask them, "Do you want to go out?" they will hot-paw it for the door, mewing in harmony until we get their harnesses on.

Once out, you quickly realize that one cat per person is the best policy because unlike dogs, cats don't work together as a pack. You don't walk cats; you follow them, doing your best to keep up as they explore under shrubs, roll on the catmint, climb trees and lounge on warm surfaces like cement walks and the tops of retaining walls.

As indoor fat cats, they are consequently lousy hunters, so as a rule they only languidly observe the birds and squirrels. While indoors they often watch with jealousy neighbor cats tresspassing on their turf. But the nature experience does give them a chance to get in touch with their wild sides. Turning tail and ala Stephen King, they "pee like a cowboy," and spray shrubs to mark their territory. Unlike Stephen King, they don't choose to wipe with poison ivy.

For cats of the indoors, visiting the outdoors is exhillarating in a draining sort of way, like a day at the beach or a mountain hike is for us. After twenty minutes or so they're ready to come back inside, have a drink and a snack, and then sack out in slumber.

That is, until the next big garden adventure.

Sidebar: Plants that Cats Love

Catnip and catmint rank at the top of a cat's favorite plants, but they are not the same. Catnip (Nepeta cataria) has grey-green leaves and tiny white flowers. Catmint (Nepeta faassenii)is a great garden perennial with lovely lavender-blue flower spikes and a long growing season in Clark County. Cats are often found rolling around in the plants to crush the leaves and flowers to release their aroma. Once the first flush of blooms has faded, shear the dead flowers back and the plant should rebloom. I find the fragrance of catnip to be more pungent than catmint, but cats are attracted to both plants. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden reports research showing the essential oil of catnip, neptalactone, has insect-repelling effects, and some people also use catnip to flavor tea.

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