Our new little charge made a frightening
discovery the other day. Fred was at his
usual post, staring out the clear glass of our front storm door, prepared to
protect us from any sort of attack, whether it be from a uniformed UPS delivery
guy or our regular mail carrier. Always
at the ready. Ready Freddy. Huh.
Right.
The last few days we have had another stray
show up that apparently heard the lady in our house might be an easy mark for some
free food. Totally different situation
this time though. First of all, Chris
didn’t hit it with a car, so the guilt factor was not present. And secondly (and of utmost importance in any decision regarding the ultimate fate of
the creature in regards to our household) … it was a cat. We don’t do cats. At least I don’t do cats. And I thought Chris was in agreement with
said philosophy. But she sure did have a
yen for this loudmouthed feline. It
constantly meowed the whole time it paced around om our porch. Chris was convinced that all it needed was a
little bit of food. I assured her that
if it was a good cat, it would go catch a mouse and have it for breakfast. Or if it was a great cat, it would catch a
rat and have a Thanksgiving feast. It’s
what cats do. It’s what they were
created for. And either way, it meant we
didn’t have to feed it. Oh, over my
admonition she eventually gave it some of the dog’s food. Imagine that.
Taking food from the mouths of our own creatures and giving it to … a
cat - something that was perfectly capable of fending for itself. Enough of that rant. Back to the story.
The cat was on the porch and Fred finally
saw it. Now Fred had never before seen a
cat. It was a curious moving object that
led to a cocked head and the faintest of Freddy-whines. The cat slowly made its way closer and closer
to the door, realizing that the canine face was connected to a less-than-imposing
body. Fred’s ears perked up (as much as
her ears are capable of such a feat. I
think her tail would have done the same, but that permanent curl is not about
to straighten itself out, even for a cat).
The whine got just a little bit louder.
The cat found a comfortable spot just outside the front door, close enough
that Fred could probably smell the evil interloper’s feline-ic intentions. Fred stood at attention for a long several
minutes, ready for anything. Prepared to
take out any intruder with designs on our door.
Ready Freddy. Fearless Fred.
And then it happened. Actually we are not completely sure what it was
that happened, only that it must have been horrific. Freddy yelped. Not just once, but over and over, screaming
it utter terror. Her legs were pumping
as fast as they could move, but on the slick hardwood floors she was not making
much headway. Looked like one of those
cartoons where the feet move but the body stays still. Her paws finally made contact with the floor
enough for her to streak away from the front door like a racehorse out of the gate. Chris came running and comforted the poor
abused puppy. I walked over to the front
door to see what manner of horror had overwhelmed such a fearless
watchdog. And there it sat. That cat.
Lounging on our door mat as if nothing at all had happened, tail
casually swishing through the air. Now
as I said, we didn’t see what actually happened, but I am convinced I know. I am pretty sure that cat suddenly leapt
toward the door, right toward poor unsuspecting Freddy, making one of those
grotesque monsterific faces that you see in those internet pranks that
mesmerize you with a mellow scene, only to shock you with the sudden appearance
of a horrendous face growling at you. That
has to be what happened. After all, it
was a cat. And that’s what cats do.
Now I know some dog lovers who would
encourage me to take poor Fred to a doggie psychiatrist to help her work
through the PSCET (Post Stressful Cat
Experience Trauma) she will undoubtedly be experiencing for the rest of her
life. I think I’ll just let it go,
though. I get along well with
psychologically “off” animals anyway. I
can relate.
James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what
it says.”
Father, draw some folks to Seaside today
who are seeking you. Amen.
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