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Where We Left Off:
Gus was the key participant in capturing a squatter named Benjamin Moore, who was released into Witness Relocation.
Double-Oh One:
Here’s the background on this week’s case file. Over the summer, the Winchester-Nabu Detective Agency discovered rats living around the estate. We have records of them here in the case files because this was unusual. We had never had rats before this year. Those cases led us back to the new angry neighbors who have farm animals. For their needs, they truck in hay (or alfalfa or whatever it really is). The Grumpy Old Man is absolutely certain that the initial rats arrived in one of these truckloads and then reproduced. Do you know who loves scurrying critters? Cats. And not only Gus and Oliver.
There are so many free-roaming cats now. We have no way of knowing which ones are spayed and neutered. We know the home of MamaCat Marsh. Her name leads us to believe that she had at least one litter. Recently, another one wearing a collar was spotted on surveillance cameras. Most of them though don’t wear collars. We think they’re fed by someone, but each cat could be from a different property/family. There’s another barn down the road where at least a couple of the black and white cats have been seen. That doesn’t mean they live there with permission. Perhaps the humans just let the cats use the barn for shelter.
Briefing:
The Cook met with me, Gus, and Oliver one morning. She recapped something from the day prior. She and The Grumpy Old Man saw two new stray cats in the yard. One was grey and white; the other was black and white.
Internal Tasks:
- Check the cameras
- Keep notes
External Tasks:
Gus, Oliver, and I decided that every time we took an adventure outside, we’d keep on alert for such strangers. At the time, we believed the black and white cat was the tuxedo, Savile. Savile has never let us come close.
It took several weeks before we had an encounter with a stray. Oliver had already been taken home on that Friday afternoon after he had ample time to chat with the birds, watch the leaves fall, and get treatos.
After that, Gus and I were in front of the Big Rock which is one of our favorite places to watch birds, squirrels, and chipmunks. It’s one of the best spots for feeding the critters because of the rocks that can be used as snack platforms and the bushes that act as protective cover for the critters.
Gus generally moves around the machines and junk. When he wants to rest or get chicken treatos, he jumps up to the metal chest on the trailer. It provides an excellent vantage point of the rocks and nearly all of the yard. The junkyard is one of the blindspots. Gus got off the metal chest and spent a few minutes sitting in the trailer. It’s pretty cute when he does this because it looks like he’s going for a ride. He jumped over the railing and stalked to the grass at the foot of the Big Rock.
He pounced!
There was nothing I could see under the withering weeds and grass. I don’t doubt that he detected something. The critters are busy getting ready for the winter. Gus sat behind the patch of artemisia and prickly wild raspberry in order to watch the other rocks where critters were eating or gathering their snacks.
If Gus appears to be calm, I let go of his leash. Since he did pounce, I happened to be holding his leash in case he came up with an animal that would need to be released. This brings me to the point in the story where I still don’t know if I did the right thing.
I saw Gus’ body language change. His stare wasn’t the same as being in observation mode of something like a chipmunk. He got more tense and I could tell. My eyes followed where he focused and I saw a tuxedo.
Inside, I was definitely panicking. I had to make decisions before two cats rumbled. The seconds ticked. What do I do? Do I keep holding Gus’ leash? Do I let it go and let him chase this stranger? Do I act like a normal human which is enough to scare a stray?
Acting like a normal person probably would have been the best option. That’s not what I did. I tried my sing-song voice people use when trying to keep animals calm. This stranger kept his eyes on Gus. I kept hoping this would be some kind of breakthrough moment where Gus would get along with someone else.
Nope.
The intruder wasn’t threatening at all. He probably wanted to hunt. Maybe he could smell the treatos in my camera bag. He seemed like he wanted to approach and share the space. I was willing to let him. Gus was not.
All of these thoughts and actions happened in seconds. Gus launched at high speed at the handsome green-eyed stranger. He pulled me along like a giant dog would. In case you’re new here, Gus has some special abilities like invisibility and he can transform into a battle-cat. I tried to keep up so Gus could chase the other cat without actually getting to him. There wasn’t a lot of land to cover in the junkyard before the obstacles forced a decision. I could have let Gus go or hold that leash with all I had in me.
I chose to hold him back from the intruder. With the kind of harness Gus is willing to wear, there are straps around his neck and body with a strap going between them for the loop to attach the leash and other things like his safety light. He won’t wear the vest style. I’ve tried. He doesn’t even like a soft jacket to keep him warm that still allows movement. Gus wants to be naked and free. Getting his H style harness on him is a compromise.
Unfortunately, because he was pulling so hard and that style of harness has a strap around his neck, he began coughing. The sound scared me. I didn’t know if he could breathe! I got to him and held him near the ground. His eyes were still focused on the direction he wanted to run. He just wanted to do his job.
My eyes were tearing. What had I done? Did my actions and decisions hurt my boy? Did he feel abused? How long would it take for him to get his breath back to normal?
Gus caught his breath and pulled on his leash to let me know he was not finished, but he was more calm. He wanted to go under the former mobile command unit, so I let him.
This brain of mine of was in a bad place. I couldn’t shake the thoughts that I caused Gus harm. I didn’t know what he was thinking for certain, but I had a pretty good idea all he cared about was chasing that stray cat. We had to find out who he was.
Fortunately, our opossum peer, Veronica Marsupial, continues to come around often. I left her a note at Fort Winchester. She came back with some vital information about our top subject.
Subject Identification:
Name: Edward Donne
Alias: Double-Oh-One
Age: Adult
Special skills: bravery, adventurous, hunting, grifting/disguises
Gus and Oliver reconvened in the office to discuss why a skill feline would pretend to be a mere hungry stray hunting to survive. The cat wasn’t emaciated, but he wasn’t living a cushy life either.
“He probably was hungry,” I said. “It wasn’t an act.”
“Do you think a cat of that pedigree, a Double-Oh, would go without second breakfast or second lunch?” Oliver pulled back at the very thought of such an existence.
“You guys get six small meals a day,” I said. “This Edward fellow is probably lucky to get one serving of dry kibble that he may even have to fight for.”
“Barbaric,” Gus muttered.
“Well, what do we do now that we have this information?” I asked the detectives.
Case Findings:
The stray cat named Edward Donne, alias Double-Oh-One, would not be trapped. He will continue to be chased off the property if Gus sees him during patrols, but it is up to the human to notice signs that Gus may need to be caught firmly and removed from any potentially dangerous situation. Our target was identified and his information was added to our records.
Case Status: Closed
