I noticed recently when I’m camping in my old house that the cats in the neighborhood are acting strangely.  There’s the yellow cat who always used to slink down the sidewalk across the street from our house.  He seemed a very skittish fellow.  I saw him the other day. He was walking down the middle of the street confident.  He wasn’t even looking over his shoulder like the hounds of hell were about to show up.  Other cats seem strangely bold lately too.  I realized that there must have been a news article in the kitty newspaper.

Local Crime Lord Really Gone

The hopeful rumor swirling through the neighborhood was confirmed this week.  The horrible bully who occupied the corner of Chestnut Street is truly gone.

Riley, age 5, has terrorized local cats since he moved to the neighborhood from the country in 2008.

“He was always there, watching,” reported one terrified neighbor.  “He’d sit on the porch with his man person and watch everything we did.  You knew you were in trouble if he got up and came down the stairs.”

Riley was known for his intimidation but he has had a little known soft side.  “He used to let me eat catnip with him in his garden,” said a small calico.  “He’d beat up anyone else who tried though.”

Oldtimers remember that he did defeat the previous cat ruler Lester after Lester attacked Riley’s housemate.  Even a later injury didn’t slow down Riley’s reign of terror.  “Even when he was unable to use his front leg at all, he’d just look at me and my blood would run cold.  Now that it seems that he is really gone I feel like I can walk the streets safely,” said Yellow Cat.
Local squirrels were asked about their memories of this scourge but their replies can not be printed in a family paper. 

It sort of makes me want to bring him back for a night just to keep all the cats guessing.