A Neighborhood Cat Mystery Solved

To quote from an earlier blog:

“Over the years we have had a number of neighborhood cats visit our house. These mystery creatures seem to belong to someone – they generally look well-fed (but not too well-fed) and healthy.”

Well, a few nights ago I was quietly reading in the bedroom, before retiring for the night, when I heard strange sounds from outside. At first I thought is was some rambunctious young people, walking down the alley, making the peculiar vocalizations that can pass for speech in such a situation. But then it carried on for longer than a group going down the alley could account for, and I thought “Aha, it must be a cat”.

I should note that we have a number of solar powered lights on the deck near the sidewalk, so it wasn’t very dark in that part of the yard. I went out to the back porch and looked out the small window of the outermost door to the outside. And there he (or she) was, about 10 feet down the sidewalk.

It had obviously heard me coming into the porch, though it is hard to say what it could see, as the porch was dark (I hadn’t put on an inside light). Under those circumstances, it might be hard to see into a window, with all the light from the solar lights reflecting off the glass.

I looked at him and he seemed to be looking right back back at me. It was an unusual meeting of the minds. The cat had what I could only deem to be a very defiant look. And it was a surprisingly big cat. It made me wonder if a lynx or a small bobcat might have come into the city. Skunks have come into the yard in the past, but it didn’t really look much like that. But in dim light, who knows? At any rate, it didn’t seem worth going to the trouble to shoo it away. Hopefully, its presence would frighten away some mice, if nothing else.

My wife then came into the porch to investigate, which quickly had a second, much smaller, cat go shooting down the sidewalk at high speed. It was immediately followed by the bigger cat. For the short amount of time that I could see them as they departed, the bigger cat didn’t catch up, though I didn’t sense that it was trying very hard.

So what was all the yowling about, I wondered. Was it a cat fight? Was one of them in heat? Were they afraid of some other animal (e.g. a coyote) and they had come near the house for protection? Were they strays? Were they feral? Or were they owned by someone who lets them come and go as they please?

Anyway, a few days later I went on a lunchtime picnic with my wife and son in a small nearby park (it was a work-from-home day for everyone). On the way back I was relating the story of the two cats. Just about the time that I finished the story, we noticed a large cat in the yard that we were walking past. Further up in that yard was a smaller cat. The big cat then proceeded to chase the smaller cat, but not as if it really wanted to catch it.

“That’s them!” I said. “The very culprits!”

My son and I had a good laugh about it all. In the end, it was just a couple of neighbourhood cats playing tag. But it was as if they knew that they were the stars of the story, and wanted to perform an encore.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The above account was all true, but if you want a nice cat story and kids, you can check out the books below, written by my wife quite some time ago.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Summer Cottage Mystery

Here's a nice children's story by Science Fiction and Romance writer Helena Puumala. Yes, she does kid's stories too. Read it to a younger child (pre-school, elementary or early junior-high), or read it yourself to bring back memories of those long, lazy childhood days at the lake, during summer vacation, when your biggest worry in life was a lost kitten. Note that this is a short story of about 8500 words.

It is just 99 cents U.S. (equivalent in other currencies) and is sometimes on free promotion. And, of course, it’s on Kindle Unlimited.

It is available on Amazon, at the following:

Amazon U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon U.K.: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Miranda and the Christmas Elf

The little pre-school girl, Miranda, is feeling unsafe because of bullies in the neighbourhood and family troubles between her mother and father. Can her friend, young elementary grade age Nathan, use his special powers to call on the North Pole for some Christmas Eve magic, to help her out?

The story is a heartwarming Christmas tale, suitable for children and adults, which will bring a little Christmas magic to us all. It is about 9000 words, or around 45 minutes or so, at typical reading speeds.

It is priced at only 99 cents (U.S. or equivalent in other currencies) and is sometimes on free promotion as well.

The book is available on Amazon, at the following links:

Amazon U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019MCY3RM

Amazon U.K.: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B019MCY3RM

Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B019MCY3RM

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B019MCY3RM

Amazon Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B019MCY3RM

Amazon France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B019MCY3RM

Amazon Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B019MCY3RM

Amazon Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B019MCY3RM

Amazon Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B019MCY3RM

Amazon Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B019MCY3RM