Murphy and the cat. (Cat lovers, don't read this.)

My neighbors, otherwise known locally as "the crazy cat people", feed and shelter feral cats in their yard. Most of that cats--and there are literally dozens of them--wind up spending much of their time in my yard and the yards of all of the other neighbors, much to near universal disgust. If these cats are not killing the birds that we feed, they're defecating everywhere, walking on our cars, fighting at night (or making new litters of cats), and generally posing a nuisance and health hazard. But the crazy cat people continue to feed them and tell us all that the cats are "part of nature" and that they (the cats) have rights just like any one of us do.

Yeah, they're pretty much nuts.

Well they're short one cat as of this morning. It was on my deck and I did not see it there when I let Murphy out. But Murphy? He saw it, all right. He saw it and he went for it.

Now there's a cat or two on my deck at least once a day, and they always run and jump off the deck when Murphy goes for them. But this particular cat? Not so bright. This one apparently decided to reason with Murphy and it stood it's ground. Needless to say, it didn't turn out well for the cat, but at least it was quick.

To paraphrase one of the best eulogies of all time: "E's passed on! This parrot cat is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! E's pushing up the daisies! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT EX-CAT!!

What would cause a three-to-four pound cat to square off against an 80lb. charging German Shepherd? I'm guessing that Darwin likes cats, too.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking that if my crazy cat neighbors never find out where this cat went, it'll be just fine by me.