Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, Where Have You Been?

It's fall and in our neighborhood that means leaves falling everywhere. We rake and bag several weekends during the fall, trying to keep up with the falling leaves and trying to keep our crabby next door neighbor off our backs as well.

We have good neighbors, it's a nice neighborhood, everyone pretty much looks out for each other, for the most part.

This couple that lives next door to us, however, is so very special. They are retired, and do nothing but work in their yard. Not that that's bad. I'd LOVE to be retired and only work in my yard. But the Social Security Administration will only send me about $5 a month at this point I'm afraid. But these people are extreme busybodies. It's actually unnerving how much they know about people in the neighborhood.

But anyway, the best part is how much they dislike cats. They have set traps up in their yard to catch neighborhood cats. Not strays, people's pets. And they took one neighbor to court. Yes, I said court. We all made the joke about the weekend that "Fluffy got arrested." They have also sent certified letters of complaint to countless other neighbors about their cats. (again, don't ask me how they know whose cats belong to who!)

But in all seriousness, it's not funny. It's very sad that someone would be so caught up their own selfishness and be so miserable as to trap a child's cat because they thought it pooed in their flower bed. Give me a break. I know there are plenty of people out there who are not cat people, but good grief, turn on your water hose or get a squirt bottle! OR, and here is a novel idea, go to your neighbor's house. I mean, nicely walk to the door and kindly tell them in a neighborly fashion that you have been seeing their cat in your yard, can they keep an eye on it? Wow! Imagine if we started acting like neighbors and actually interacted with one another! I would be more than willing to keep a better eye on my cat if my neighbor nicely said, "I think your cat is using my flower bed for a litter box."
"Well, I bet you're right, I bet she is. I'm sorry! I'll try to keep a better eye on her from now on. Thanks for letting me know."

Instead, we just go to great extreme measures to keep our cats indoors now, and they (the cats) are quite irritated at us, but we just don't feel like messing with all the nonsense.

So, as Halloween approaches, I envision lots of black cats making visits to the neighbor's yard, perhaps in protest, perhaps as a visit from Karma (if I believed in actual Karma), or perhaps just to make all the neighbors smile.

Here is a nursery rhyme about sweet little kitties and yes, it's pretty silly, but I revised it a bit so it could be my blog title! Forgive me! My ode to the cats of the world:

Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, where have you been? I've been to London to visit the Queen. Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, what did you do there? I frightened a little mouse under her chair.