Our Cat is a Rat

    I apologize for the blurry photo, but it was the best one I had. 

    In the morning it has been the habit of our household to walk around the pond.  I take the lead, followed by Skye our dog, and Lucifer our cat takes up the rear.  This formation is the only way the walk works, because of the fear that Skye has for Lucifer.  This can be demonstrated by what happened yesterday.

    Our walk went fine until we got to the dam at the far side of the pond.  At that point Skye got the scent of an interesting smell and stepped off of the path and walked about 5 feet (1.5m) to investigate.  This deviation from the norm enabled Lucifer to catch up and take a position on the path, beside where Skye was.  When Skye got done with his nose, she realized that the cat was sitting there on the path, so Skye, full of fear, refused to move.

    Eventually the cat, satisfied with recognition of her power, moved on down the path.  This allowed Skye to follow, but keeping a safe distance behind the cat.  I, in the meantime, just kept on walking, hoping that my distance would make Skye so desperate, that she would build up enough nerve to detour around and just pass Lucifer, but Skye was just to afraid.

    When I got to the house, I looked back to see if the animals were coming.  They were not.  Lucifer had decided to once again re-establish her power and had stopped on the trail.  Skye of course stopped also, fearing to get any closer to the cat.

    I walked on up to the barn and got the sunflower seeds and filled the bird feeder, then returned the seed container to the barn.  Lucifer and Skye remained in their position.  It had been about 10 minutes since either of them moved, and by this time I realized that Skye would never get frustrated enough to pass the cat, so I decided I had to do something.

    I walked back down to the two, picked up the cat and pitched her into the deep snow.  Skye, delighted to finally be free, darted past me and raced to the house.  The cat, full of indignity, shook the snow off herself and hopped back to the path and now that Skye, her reason for stopping was gone, walked back to the house.

    What a rat she is.

You can view my photo-realistic paintings at:  www.davidmarchant.ca