- Cape Rolling Out Bloomfield Road Art Trail (8/21/19)1
- Donors Pledge Almost Two Grand To Replace SEMO's Possibly Sentient ‘Gum Tree' (8/16/18)
- SEMO and The Will To (Become A Consultant) – Part 2 (6/14/18)
- SEMO and The Will To Do (You Really Want To See That Legal Notice?) – Part 1 (6/4/18)
- Judge, Jury... Trashman (6/1/18)
- Diary of Cape Girardeau Road Deconstruction (5/11/18)
- Trying To Save A Tree From City “Improvements” (4/30/18)2
The Second Annual Christmas Running of the Cats
If it is not raining or snowing, we let our cat Patches out into our fenced-in backyard two or three times a day for 10 to 20 minutes of exercise.
We always watch her when she goes outside since Patch is fully de-clawed and can't protect herself. Or at least that's what we think.
No one has ever bothered to tell the cat that.
Patches usual outside routine is to wander around the yard, inspecting the areas she usually inspects -- the front fence row, behind the garage, the nooks behind the clumps of pampas grass -- occasionally stalking a bird or a squirrel and generally being on the lookout for her Arch-Enemy Smoky.
Smoky is a short-haired, gray female cat which belongs to our tenants next door. Smoky is part indoor, but mostly outdoor cat who our cat simply HATES. Whenever the two happen to meet in our yard, we always try to sweep up Patches as fast as possible because she is always the aggressor, claws or not.
I guess in the cat world, weapons like claws and teeth are important, but attitude trumps them both.
Patches has plenty of 'tude.
Last Christmas, Patches spied Smoky in our backyard and promptly chased her out an open gate and down to the street. That almost gave both my wife and I cardiac episodes.
We did not want to duplicate that incident for Christmas this year.
But as I was getting ready to let Patches out in her backyard on Christmas morning this year, I spied Smoky stranded on the neighbor's garage roof. I'm not sure how she got up there, but apparently she could not figure out how to get down.
Using a long board I got her to walk over to our fence. She quickly clambered down it and strolled out our side gate which I promptly closed.
With the Arch-Enemy gone, the coast looked clear for Patches to have one of her daily romps.
Things went calmly at first.
Patches inspected her inspecting places and spied a bird in a bush. Everything was quiet, so I stepped back inside to watch from our enclosed porch.
And then the Arch-Enemy returned.
As soon as I spotted the two cats in a stare off, I hurried outside. As I was bending over to grab Patches, Smokey bolted. The three of us were off to the races. Two blurs of fur raced around the yard -- with me in futile pursuit -- until Smokey wisely scrambled up and over our fence.
Patch skidded to a halt, pissed off that she had been foiled again from catching her Nemesis by the fence she could not climb and was too tall for her to jump.
I left her alone in the yard for a few minutes, letting her adrenaline taper off. She tends to bite anything in sight -- including Laps and Cat Chow Bowl Filler-Uppers -- immediately after having a run-in with her Arch-Enemy.
After a five minute cool down, I brought her back inside for some Chow and a brushing.
Another Christmas.
Another Running of The Cats.
I hope it snows next Christmas.
Respond to this blog
Posting a comment requires a subscription.