What a sweet fella you have there and a great name too. I'm a fan of both Dudleys now.

I'm glad to see though that I am not the first to urge you to keep Dudley indoors. I am still confused as to how people can open the door and let our little beloved furry family outside and expect them to be able to defend themselves in the streets that have fast cars, predators, garbage that is sometimes inviting (but mostly poisonous) as well as humans who wouldn't bat an eye at harming them. I know many cases of people calling the animal control people to pick up neighbors cats that they felt were a nuisance. Why do dogs have more protection than cats - we don't let them out the door to fend for themselves. When I was a little girl and my parents didn't know any better (and the world was a little safer even) we lost 2 cats (hit by cars) and another disappeared. I am a volunteer for 3 animal shelters and the numbers of cats killed prematurely, one way or another, is outrageous.

Please reconsider letting Dudley outside if you truly want to have him with you for many years to come. He will get over it as long as he has some windows to look out of, a radio to listen to when you're not home and maybe a Cat DVD. All of my cats stopped asking to go outside after about a month and statistics show they live a longer, healthier life.