Stories of a cat named Trouble

So tonight after tanning I'm fixing supper...What would be good in the salad...oh yes the chives out in the herb bucket...so out I go in two different colored shoes to cut the chives.  Who do I run into (actually who came running across the yard)  but the lady who lives next door.  She wants to talk about my cat.  The conversation goes something like this....

"How old is that cat of yours?" She asks in a very authorative demanding tone.


"Well he was born the 1st weekend in September, so that makes him about eight months old" I replied. 

"I have a female cat inside the house (I've never seen this cat) who is about 10 months old and does not act anything like your cat." Quick chipped words.

So what does one say other than "Is there a problem with my cat?"  I know he is a little short on the brain matter, and fearless like all teenagers, but what could one little cat do to so anger my neighbor?


"Well the other morning I opened the door to let my cat (Wayne and I call him big cat cause he is just that a big black cat) and in runs your cat.(OK so Trouble is already in trouble).  He had a bird in his mouth, which he promptly let go.  Then the bird started to fly around my house."

One is suppose to say what.???  Actually I wanted to laugh out loud..or burn the cat...by now my neighbor had caught her breath and launched into the second chapter of the story....

"The bird was flying around my house.  Your cat ran across my kitchen table and jumped on my poor little Missy who had never had a bird in the house before. I took my broom to both your cat and the bird and managed to sweep them out the door"

I'm dying!  My cat is a deliquent, my tounge has got to be bleeding and what comes out of my mouth "You really don't have to worry about Trouble infecting your cats because he is netured and has all his shots"

"Do you know how hard it is to get rid of wild bird feathers with three cats chasing them as you sweep?"

There are three cats in that house?  The picture in my head is too much, bird feathers, cats, broom..go Trouble!

"You need to get a bell on that cat.  You really shouldn't let him out of the house again without a bell"

Now I'm a grown women, I've sat in frount of teachers while they complain about kids, I've sat in frount of nuring home administrators when my parents mis behaved, but never before have I had to deal with a neighbor over a mis-behaving cat!!  

I cut my chives and my losses and nearly ran inside the house.  Where I refused to let Trouble out, every good parent knows...there have to be consequences for your actions.

The man thinks the incident show's the depth of charater and hunting abilities of our cat

  Tommorrow is another day!