The star of our next article in the Cats of Fantasy Twitter series — Macie
The Cat
Macie is Kraig's (@RotoHeatKraig) cat, she is seven years old and was adopted from the local humane society as a kitten, her breed is not known but she is a shorthair. She was picked out by Kraig's oldest daughter during an adoption event and she's been a member of the family ever since. Macie is described as laid-back, lazy, and friendly.
She doesn't really ever get wound up and does enjoy stalking birds, squirrels, and other animals through the window. Macie also rubs her belly often to the point where there isn't much fur on it, which is strange but the vet says nothing to be concerned about. Macie had a dog friend in the family's golden retriever, the two were good pals.
She really enjoys her pets (getting petted) and is extremely vocal if dinner is even a minute late. Macie is a master of hiding when she wants some time to herself and has been an indoor cat her entire life. Like most indoor cats when she does occasionally, by accident or whatever, find herself in the great outdoors the realization that her "world" is really just a small sliver of the enormity of existence is too much for her.
She freezes in place and isn't sure what to do. Let's talk about that, what generally happens when an indoor cat transitions (for whatever reason) to life or at least access to the great outdoors?
The Great Outdoors
The great debate of whether or not to allow your cat outdoors has been raging for many years. On one side you've got an average life expectancy of indoor cats ranging from 15-17 years whereas outdoor cats max out at only 2-5 years. For most owners, that's enough right there. I know it was for me. It's far too dangerous out there for my little chungus.
Outdoor cat enthusiasts will point towards the quality of life argument at this point, cats have always been outdoor animals, and being able to hunt, stalk, and use all their excellent senses improves their quality of life enough to offset the shorter lifespan for some. That debate will rage on until the end of time.
But what happens when an indoor cat is allowed outside? Well, if it's done properly, with a leash or harness for short periods of time after consulting your veterinarian, it can help them "reconnect with their roots" and flex those hunting, stalking, and scouting muscles. But as for letting your indoor cat roam free outdoors, especially if they've been an indoor cat for most of their life, this is not advised.
"A domesticated cat is unlikely to survive in the wild on its own for a considerable amount of time. Cats that have not spent time outside do not have the necessary skill set to survive in the wild by themselves. " (faqcats.com)
If your cat has never lived outdoors, it has never learned to defend itself, hunt for food or survive the elements. If your cat has always been an outdoor cat, he or she learned these behaviors and skills early in life and has spent time perfecting them.
Sending a pampered indoor cat into the outdoor apocalypse leaves them needing to learn a lifetime's worth of these skills immediately, or the first situation they run into will likely be their last.
Most outdoor cats were taught these skills by their mother or another cat early in their lives, that wouldn't be possible if an indoor cat were suddenly asked to live in the wild full-time. One interesting thing I found while looking at this idea was that when an indoor cat is lost outdoors, it will spend a ton of its initial effort and energy trying to find its way home.
If that initial effort were instead spent hunting for food or learning survival behaviors, their chances of survival outdoors would improve significantly. We haven't even factored in all the diseases and infestations that outdoor cats are exposed to that our indoor critters will never have to worry about.
So when we look at all these factors, it does make sense that Macie would freeze up and panic a bit when she accidentally ends up outside for a few minutes, and her willingness to come back inside as soon as possible also lines up with the tidbit about expending energy trying to return home.
Thankfully Macie has a great family that loves her very much, so she'll never have to worry about this scenario. It was interesting to look at this behavior, though. Kraig is a great cat dad and is welcomed into cat society. We wish him luck in this year's cat league.
Macie keeps an eye on the humans
The Draft
Justin Jefferson highlights Kraig's high-powered offense
Offense
Kraig took the "it's a cat league" theme to heart with his draft. Knowing this was for zero money and literally was a league with custom MFL cat graphics, he decided to have fun with this draft and get his guys plus target some under-the-radar offensive players and situations.
On defense, he wanted to target some of his favorite IDP assets that he hasn't been able to acquire yet this season, and this league gave him a great opportunity to do that.
Kraig grabbed Kirk Cousins (QB), Jameis Winston (QB), and Baker Mayfield (QB) for his quarterback and Superflex spot. He was able to stack Justin Jefferson (WR) with Cousins for a beautiful one-two punch there. With Tyler Boyd (WR), Nico Collins (WR), and Michael Thomas (WR), the wide receiver corps is looking solid for Kraig in the cat league.
At running back, he went with Elijah Mitchell (RB), JK Dobbins (RB), and Rhamondre Stevenson (RB) with depth in James Robinson (RB). One of these assets he hasn't gotten much of this season was Kyle Pitts (TE), he'll have some serious firepower for the tight end premium setup with Pitts and David Njoku (TE) for depth.
Kraig added more stacks with Marquez Calloway (WR) as a depth piece and is banking on the Jameis Winston (QB) we saw in Tampa Bay several years ago who was more than capable of airing it out week to week.
Kraig secured a monster in Micah Parsons
IDP
On defense, this was a defensive tackle premium league so when Kraig acquired DeForest Buckner (DT) and Leonard Williams (DT) he was really pouring gas on the extra points fire. With this being true position the options at defensive end were expanded and he settled on Maxx Crosby (DE), Von Miller (DE), Haasan Redick (DE) and Joe Tyron (DE) for a nice lineup with plenty of splash play upside.
For linebackers, he ended up with two excellent options in Micah Parsons (LB) and Jeremiah Owusu Koramoah (LB) along with Myles Jack (LB) and Quincy Williams (LB for depth. His corner to start the season is Cameron Dantzler (CB) in a picture-perfect matchup against Aaron Rodgers (QB) in a divisional showdown in week one.
At safety, he was able to grab some options he has fewer shares of with Jaquan Brisker (S), Jevon Holland (S), and Xavier McKinney (S).
Conclusion
Kraig used this opportunity to grab some guys he really wanted some shares of and to try some different approaches than he normally would, this is certainly the place for that and this team has some excellent pieces in place. Kraig is a writer and podcaster and this is also not his first rodeo, he'll adjust in season as needed and with the capital, he secured in the draft he's set up for success this season in the cat league.
Thank you for reading this entry in the Cats of Fantasy Twitter article series! There are more to come, as fast as I can get them out. A special thank you to @RotoHeatKraig for joining me on this insane journey. Make sure you go check out his work, and we wish him luck in this year's cat league.
Keep an eye out for the next installment in this series! It will be here as soon as I can write it, and Faith can edit it and send it. Until next time!
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