Cats of DOOM

[Greg]

Not that I didn't think of that.....

[Drunk Monk]

Pix or it didn't happen. 

[Greg]

Ghost Cat

The Queen received a call yesterday from our neighbor Mariah (Way up here they got a wind) asking if I had seen their cat, Kitty. A reasonable question because Kitty comes out usually every morning to join us for a stroll around the neighborhood. I responded that I had not seen Kitty. The Queen was then informed Mariah feared the worst because she had heard terrible cat screams in the night accompanied by coyote howls.

I was upset, too, because Kitty was a bright spot on the morning walk. He was very affectionate and seemed lonely. He was part of a feral pack on Mariah's property and the rest of his litter mates and mother had been dispatched by the local coyote troop. Kitty made friends with Maeve and would come the quarter mile to our house occasionally. My feral pack was less than welcoming to him but Faini tolerated him when we wandered around the neighborhood.

I was going to miss him.

I'm out on the walk this morning, moving up the hill to Road 600 past Mariah's house when who should pop up behind me but Kitty. I admit I was very happy to see him and gave him more chicken treats than was wise. At that time I thought to take a picture but I held off until there was a bit more light in the sky. I made the turn at Road 600 and headed towards the Brechbuehl's ranch. Kitty stayed with me until I passed the Fahey's. I made the u-turn at the Brechbuehls and started looking for Kitty. He usually didn't venture far during our walks. But I couldn't see him. I called for him. I made cat calls. Nothing. No cat. Not a sign of him.

My immediate supposition was that Kitty was dead and that for the last ten minutes I had been walking with a Ghost Cat. Sure, I had fed him and picked him up but that fanciful part of my soft brain went to Ghost Cat. I thought for sure I would see uneaten chunks of chicken on the ground where I had fed Kitty. I went back to Mariah's house to see if maybe Kitty had ended up there. Nope.

As I turned and headed back to Lynch Lair the Ghost Cat became real cat again. I picked up Kitty and confirmed his solidity again much to Kitty's displeasure. I was tempted to kidnap Kitty and bring back to my house but I resisted. Kitty did not follow me to the Lair but he did spend a lot of time looking after me as I made my way home.

Kitty is with us at least for one more day.

[Drunk Monk]

Could still be a ghost cat…

Because cats are like that.

[Greg]

The thought had occurred .......

[thatguy]

Boy, am I glad my cat's not dead!


---tg

[Greg]

And the cat count at Lynch Lair goes down to 7. Maybe. Mama Freeloader is no longer hanging out in her garage domain. She doesn't usually venture far and I haven't seen her since Tuesday. The food we leave for her in the garage remains uneaten.

I'm sad. Mama Freeloader was about 17 years old. She was the Freeloader because she appeared in my garage one day in Montecito Heights and gave birth to seven kittens. Her and one of her sons, Fergus, made the trip to Lynch Lair. Fergus passed away about two years ago from some ailment. And now Mama appears to be gone. She was never a very affectionate cat. She did like her pets until she didn't, then she would give you a good swipe. She would also give you a good swipe if you stopped petting her too early.

She hated all the other cats. If they came near her, she would smack them. I think she was getting a bit lonely, because she started to tolerate Faini in the garage. Mama would still smack Faini if Faini went to the food first but Mama tended to follow Faini out to greet me in the mornings and evenings when I would hand cat treats.

Time rolls on. Pieces of our hearts break off and are left behind us.

[Drunk Monk]

Deepest condolences. What a journey she had from Montecito to Raymond. Any street cat should be so lucky.