Oreo the Cat Meets Friends in the Park

Oreo is almost five years old, an Exotic Shorthair with a squashed face and a grumpy expression that fools everyone. He is actually very social. When a group of cat owners from our neighborhood started meeting on Sunday mornings at the park by the lake, I decided he deserved to go too. We set up a little picnic blanket under a big tree. Two Persians, a fluffy grey mix called Mochi, and a ginger cat named Tom who refused to leave his carrier for the first twenty minutes. Oreo walked straight over, sniffed everyone once, and then flopped down in the middle of the blanket like he had been waiting all his life for this moment. Some owners brought toys, others brought homemade treats. The best part was watching the younger cats chase a feather wand across the grass while the older ones pretended not to care. A few people walked their cats on leashes along the path, which looked funny but worked surprisingly well. By the time we packed up, Oreo had made three new friends and fallen asleep in my bag. I am already counting down to next Sunday!