Amanda and I both brought animals into the relationship and frankly, it’s a bit like the “Brady Bunch.”  Obviously, we both love the other’s pets, but there is a longer and deeper relationship with the pets we owned prior to meeting.

One of her pets that I have grown surprisingly fond of is Jeeves, the cat.  Jeeves keeps me company eight hours a day while I work in the “cat area” of the house, upstairs.  He’s a little goofy and loves attention.  He’ll sit on my desk and watch the birds and wildlife go past the window for hours. 

He’d become fairly comfortable with the dogs, even slipping downstairs for some human attention when the dogs were quiet.  And sometimes, I think, for actual attention from the dogs.  He seemed to like the way the played the fool when he was around.

Jeeves likes it outside.  I don’t care for him being out because I worry that he’ll tangle with wild cats, coyotes, fishers or get hit by a car.  Last Wednesday, I put the dogs out the back door.  Jeeves came down and started begging to go out the front.  We have a little chime for the animals to ring to indicate they want out.  Jeeves was beating the chimes to the point I felt I had to let him out.  Plus, if I let him out at five, he’ll probably come in at dusk. 

I popped him out the front door and checked on him a few moments later.  The dogs had cornered him on the step.  Mind you he frequently waits for the dogs to go out to know someone will open the door to let him in.  He’ll stand on the front step with all the dogs and wait to come in.

I opened the screen door, which pushed the dogs’ noses away as it swung over his head.  Basically, it was easier for him to come in than go further out, but he booked it into the bushes, with the dogs in pursuit.

Honestly, I didn’t think much of it as I chatted with Amanda on the phone.  Then I heard Colt squealing.  I figured he’d gotten into a third porcupine, and went to investigate.

I’m trying to imagine what Amanda heard on the other line.  “Honey, I have to go.”  Phone dropped on floor.  “Dove!  Leave it!  Leave IT!  Get your ass in here…” Phone kicked across floor.  “Get in your kennel.  KENNEL!”

I located the phone and picked it up; Amanda was still on the line.  I told her I saw Dove had Jeeves by the throat and was shaking him.  He scurried off when she let go, which was as soon as I started yelling.  She was on the phone with me as I looked for fur and blood, which I found none.  Also found no cat. 

I think the attention from the dogs made him nervous enough to run, jacking their prey drive up.  When he got cornered near the old chicken coop, he probably reacted by trying to scratch Colt’s eyes out.  At that point, it was “go time” for Dove.  When he sits still in the house, she’ll point him for hours.

When he didn’t return by morning, we were worried he was severely injured.  When he didn’t return by Friday AM, we worried he was dead.  I actually asked if Amanda noticed any crows.  She’d been looking for crows and vultures already.  We were coming to grips with the fact that MY dog killed HER cat.

Erik came up Friday and was outside when I couldn’t locate Winnie.  He said he heard her “fooling around” out back.  Since she wasn’t fooling around with the other dogs, I HOPED it was a cat and not a porcupine.  I rushed into the house for a flashlight.  I couldn’t tell Amanda why I wanted it because I didn’t want to get her hopes up.

I couldn’t hear Winnie, and I didn’t want to get her to come in without knowing where she was.  So I said very quietly, “Oh, Winnnnnnie,” and heard a little noise.  The flashlight found two greenish eyes looking back at me.  Dog or Porcupine?  “Winnie?”  “Jingle.”  OK, dog.

I then pushed the beam up the trunk of the tree she was under, and saw two golden eyes.  Do I get Amanda or a shotgun?  I took a step to the right and saw WHITE!  CAT!

I bolted to the house and said “Honey, your cat is alive!”  She bolted outside and when I pointed him out, she went into the briars to get her cat.  I asked her to wait and went to the house to put Winnie up and put on brush pants.  I was planning to use the climbing tree stand to shimmy up.  By the time I got out, the flashlight was about 200 yards from the house in the middle of the field.

Jeeves had bolted from the tree as soon as Winnie was inside and took off away from Amanda.  She had to run him down and catch him by the tail.  Jeeves was terrified and is still working on trust issues, but life is returning to normal.  Well, almost normal. 

Niles was so lonely while Jeeves was away that he actually started getting social with people.  He doesn’t bite and actually sought out attention from people.  Maybe this will last and we’ll have two “functional” cats in the house.