Cat Sagas, Part Deux

My elation at discovering that Boudreaux was okay was short-lived. I woke up this morning to the sound of dogs barking again, and, by the time I made it out the back door, I discovered the largest of the hounds standing over the body of my cat, Judas. She, unfortunately, was dead.

So, at 7:30 am, I was once again digging a hole. The ground was fairly soft, but I need to put some more dirt on top of the grave to keep the varmints from digging her up. To say that I am sad is an understatement. This cat has been with me for about ten years. My daughter brought Judas to me from Austin. Dorothy had moved into a new apartment and couldn't keep her.

Judas was a one-person cat. She hated every other cat in the house and rarely let any of them get within three feet of her. When the weather turned warm, she would go outside and not come back inside until the temperature cooled significantly. I think that's what caused the problem--I couldn't get her to come inside to eat. I had to put food out for her, which, I think, encouraged the dogs to visit the property.

Judas was part of a litter of kittens that a wandering stray cat had when my daughter was living in an apartment with four guys. They named the mother cat "Mary" and named the kittens after the Disciples--Judas got her name because she was the only black cat in the bunch. Dorothy and the guys didn't care about the cat's sex; they named them randomly. So that's how I ended up with a cat named "Judas." Not a name I would have chosen.

When I got home from teaching today, I called the police department. I let them know about the dogs, that one of them, at least, had killed my cat. We do have leash laws here, I found out, but we don't really have any way to enforce them. We don't have a dog catcher or pound, so abandoned or wandering animals can't be taken anywhere, even if the police do catch them. I asked the officer what the solution was, and he told me that the officer can "dispose" of the animal if he/she considers the animal vicious. If the animal attacks the officer, the officer can shoot it. I think that's what he meant by "dispose." I'm not in favor of killing animals--any animals--unless they pose an immediate danger. These dogs are vicious to cats. Does that count? Anyway, the morning shift is supposed to keep an eye on my property. I am going to try to keep the cats in tonight. They've been in most of the day, anyway, because of the rain. I think I'll go count, now. If they are all here, I'm locking the door.

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Oh, and, as an aside, I'm now the proud owner of a bouncing baby riding lawnmower! Alas, I can't use it because the ground is saturated. I probably won't be able to cut the grass until Tuesday. I hope I can figure out how it works by then!