Wildlife in Maryland

Okay, kids, here's today's story of life in suburbia. There is this cat who lives somewhere nearby. It's a very healthy cat and a very friendly cat. It comes up onto our front porch and does the classic cat begging maneuver of rubbing against our legs looking for a scritch behind the ears. In general, it seems to be a fairly well-adjusted example of the feline species.

But there's a problem: it ain't our cat. We'll go weeks or months without seeing it and just figure that it's gone back wherever it lives to stay. Then it'll show up again for several days in a row.

Today it decided to take a shot at being our cat. As my wife was bringing things into the house, it launched itself through our front door in front of her. Let me say that we're generally in favor of furry creatures of all kinds. Some are cute and cuddly, some are majestic and regal, and some taste really good. But we are not cat people. Three of us are horribly allergic, and one of us (your humble narrator) wears his cat allergy as a badge of considerable pride. So this clearly will not fly.

Fortunately, local law enforcement (our neighbor who is a police officer and not allergic to cats) was able to subdue the suspect and eject it from the premises. I was not there to see it, but I'm told that the miscreant went very quietly and our friend didn't have to draw her sidearm. As I mentioned to my wife later, breaking and entering is a criminal act, but we decided not to press charges. However, if the little feline felon comes back, he's getting dropped in a doggie crate until the dog catcher can come and take his little heinie away.