I've been experiencing some picture posting troubles, so I'm going to go ahead and post an entry and get pics back in when I work out the difficulties. And so now, a cat adventure in two Acts.
Last night as I was getting Jordan to bed in his third floor bedroom, I looked out the window into the black night beyond and was startled to see a pair of eyes staring in from outside this third story window!
After a brief scare, I realized that it was one of our stupid cats, Beady. Jordan's window was up to enjoy the night breeze and the cat must have loosened the latch that kept the screen shut and walked out on to the 8" ledge. Of course, once outside, the screen shut and he couldn't get it back open to get in.
When I approached, he was nervously trying to paw it open, but as soon as it opened a crack, it would cause him to back up precariously towards the edge. After thinking a few seconds (should I leave him out there and experience some natural consequences?), I tried carefully opening the screen in order to grab the cat. I had the same trouble the cat did, though. As soon as I opened it a bit, it pushed him towards the edge.
The ledge on the third floor extends beyond the window, over towards another third floor window, but also gets much narrower. I tried to urge the cat to scoot over briefly to the narrower ledge so I could open the window but he wasn't cooperating.
So, I went to the other window, which is about four feet away from the window where the cat stood. There I was at 10pm halfway leaning out a third story window trying to reach the stupid cat who brilliantly backed away from me. Once, he let me grab the scruff of his neck, but as soon as I put any pressure to see if I could safely lift him (without both of us crashing down into the bushes below), he started squirming and backing away, so I let him go.
Finally, I decide that it was serious enough that I run downstairs and fetch a knife. I then cut open the screen so he could safely just walk back in to Jordan's room. I held the screen open and said, "Come on in stupid cat." He declined.
Instead he backed away from me...over the edge! Jordan and I looked at each other and our guts sort of went Whoomp!
Not knowing what else to do, I peered nervously out the window AND THERE WAS THE STUPID CAT ON THE SECOND STORY WINDOW LEDGE outside of Sarah's room, where Donna was still putting Sarah to bed!!
Jordan and I ran down the stairs to see Donna and Sarah staring at us, wondering what in the world was going on (they told me later they were just getting quiet when the heard a Whoomp! followed by a meek, meow?). Donna quickly saw what was outside the window and opened Sarah's window (where there is no screen) and let him in.
Phew!
He seems fine.
This is the same cat that has fallen from our second floor landing to the first and the same cat that was so sick right after we brought him in that he nearly died.
I'd say he's used up about three of his lives (not counting me wanting to kill him for needlessly cutting open a screen window).
Stupid cat.
Well, here's to happy landings.
2 comments:
We have a $1500 cat! Smokey, a grey and white breeding accident with extra long back legs, is a coward. She never roams. She is usually right in the bushes outside the door she left the house through. She is also mean to her "brother" Lou. He is always getting batted at when he has done nothing.
Why did she cost $1500? Well, she was actually free, but one day wandered ALL THE WAY across the street and climbed up into a warm engine compartment to snooze or snoop. The driver, our curmudgeonly neighbor at the time, came out and started the car, a Volkswagen Beatle. When he backed out of the driveway, Smokey got her tail and left hip caught in the steering mechanism and was dragged five miles on and errand and five back before a frantic following car risked life and limb to stop the offending Beatle and notify the driver that there was a "dead cat" being dragged under the car. This same good samaritan and her daughter had called the Humane Society emergency number, and a pet-cop arrived and sedated Smokey. The pet-cop read Smokey's leash tag and called me and I showed up, driving only a block from my house, sure I would see Lou, the male wanderer who had been known to disappear for weeks. Nope, it was Smokey. All the fur and pads had been scraped off her front paws. Her hip was broken. Her tail was kinked at a sharp angle. I now made one mistake. The vet at the humane society said she could be "saved" and so I called home to ask my wife and daughters, cat lovers all, what they wanted to do. Why save her of course!, they cried in unison. $1500 and eight and a half years later, we have Smokey and Lou. Smokey is as good as new. Lou is beaten up frequently by his "sister"...and we are $1500 dollars poorer, but the females in the house think the expense was worth every penny.
Dumb cat.
Don't get me started.
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