CAT

Today was the first day back to work after Christmas holidays.  When everyone got up this morning, we were all a little groggy as we ground back into our work day routines. Greg led the charge down the stairs this morning to let the dogs out for their morning pee.  I was coming behind them.  When I reached the kitchen, Greg was outside and I could hear him screaming Bentley's name.  First thought, "oh no."  I opened the door and there was Greg and all three dog's, Greg yelling "Bentley" and all the dog's barking and going absolutely wild on the deck.

When Greg opened the door to let them out, he saw a blur of brown fur go running off the deck towards the north side of our yard.  Seconds later, the blur went running back the other direction, this time the blur included 3 dog's in hot pursuit.  When I came out, the blur had landed back on the deck and Greg was trying to keep the dog's away from it.  I remember thinking, raccoon.  When it leaped 5 feet, straight up and stuck to the side of our house I was still processing what the creature was.  It all happened so fast, but seemed to go in slow motion.  It was a cat, a Siamese cat, tiny and stuck with all claws onto the side of our house.  It was so scared that it peed as it hung on, and then lost its grip and fell in-between the decking and the side of the house.  When he popped back up with the dog's in pursuit trying to reach it from under the deck, he managed to land on our metal BBQ with all claws trying to catch a grip on the slippery surface.  It was hissing, screaming and swatting at every chance it got.  When it slid off the BBQ, it landed on a small piece of decking behind it.  The girls gathered behind Bentley, as he led the barking assault on the poor thing, trying to get it, but getting swatted at instead.  I kept thinking of how the breeder that Bentley came from told us that the Springers she kept in the large pen at her kennel never let a cat make it out alive if one dared to jump in.  I knew I had to rescue the cat.  I climbed down the side of the deck, in my slippers and wearing my house coat while Greg was in the house trying to find food to get Bentley's attention (it didn't work.)  I managed to get behind the cat and pick it up.  With all legs pointed straight out and away from me, he just kept swatting and hissing towards  the dogs.  Some how we managed to get me in the house with the cat (legs, claws still pointing straight out and stiff as a board), where I was able to put it down on the front step.  He stayed there for about a 1/2 hr. before finding his way out of our yard.  Poor thing.

Bentley is obsessed with anything that moves in our backyard and will sit at the windows waiting for something to move, a bird, a squirrel or the dog's that live 2 acres away.  This experience has floored him and now he is absolutely thrilled to get outside and take a tour of the yard, as if we needed this.  How does this happen to us?  You can't make this stuff up.