The problem, you see, is our three cats. Crybaby, a black 12-year-old; Patsy Cline, part Siamese and the empress of the colony; and Princess Jasmine (Jazzy), the kitten even though she is close to seven herself. I think you can see the problem. The cats do not like Rudy; but he thinks the cats would be fun to play with. After four days he has given up on Crybaby and Jazzy. They have learned to ignore him; they just won’t even be bothered by him. Patsy, on the other hand, has decided it is time to go on the offensive.

Patsy can outrun Rudy. She has longer claws and a primordial spirit of the hunt. It is a good thing Randy will be home today. I hope we can keep them apart until he comes in tonight. It is the kind of situation in which one truly wonders what would Jesus do?

Rudy asks for the attention of the attack cat. At least once this visit he has been pursued by two at the same time. If they corner him, he has pretty much bought the farm. About the only thing you can do, unless you want to get involved with slashing claws, is to pray for him. On the other hand, should we pray for the cats since they are the ones who have been spitefully used?

Watching the cats and the dog is not so different from being a part of your neighborhood. There are those who are always ready to take offense; they find fault with whatever we do. We see them like we see Patsy, just ready to spring on some unsuspecting neighbor who just happened to look at them wrong.

On the other hand, some of the neighbors tend to rub each other the wrong way and set the stage for retaliation. It is almost fun to watch. We all want to be peacemakers but intervention is a lot like the dog and cat fight; if we get involved, we may feel the claws. Especially if we don’t know who started it.

So, about this time I am wondering what is the point of all this? As I see it, there are three lessons here:

1. Don’t babysit granddogs.
2. Get rid of three cats
3. Don’t get into a cat fight that isn’t any of your business.