Well hello there!

[Jarlaxle]

Yesterday, while giving my bus a quick check-out (mostly, checking for critters inside), I heard some noise on the roof. Figuring I would end up chasing squirrels away, cutting a broken branch, or re-securing the shrouds over one of my A/C units, I pulled out a ladder. Climbing up, I was watching the ladder to make sure it doesn't start to slide sideways. As I reached the top, I looked up...and found myself nose to nose (about 4" away) with a large black & white cat! I gave a startled yelp and nearly fell, as the cat watched impassively from atop the bathroom vent cover. I tell my wife, who goes up and sees he is wearing a harness & tag. Well, he's clearly not a stray. He just as clearly doesn't belong on my bus roof. His tag probably indicates his owner. OK, let's see who his owner is.

I climb onto the roof, reach for him, and kitty takes off. He makes a quick leap to the top of the rear A/C housing, where he crouches, watching me. Liz climbs to the roof, and the Laurel & Hardy skit begins: we are now trying to catch a cat, on an 8' wide, 38' long sloping metal roof, a roof featuring obstacles like two A/C units, several roof vents, several plumbing vents, and an emergency exit. She made a grab for him...kitty continued forward. We both went forward, kitty went all the way to the forward edge, then raced back, ducking around the front A/C. We tried again, resulting in me stumbling on a plumbing vent and almost falling off. After about 10 minutes of what I suspect was highly-entertaining idiocy, Liz went in the house and returned with a very large blanket. OK, new plan: we would each take one end and move towards the cat. When close enough, we would throw the blanket...it was large enough that it would cover the entire width of the roof.

We advanced, we readied, we tossed...and the blanket settled to the roof as the cat zipped between us.

OK, plan C now: I would stay put (at the rear), Liz would go forward with the blanket. I would move forward, Liz would stay in the front...I would hold Kitty's attention, Liz would swoop in with the blanket. Liz went forward & signalled she was ready...I moved toward the cat. As I advanced, Kitty retreated toward the front...so far, so good. Once past the front A/C (nothing on the roof ahead of it), Liz pounced: she leapt forward with the blanket, aiming for the cat...who promptly zipped sideways, making an amazing scramble along the sharply-curved roof edge. Liz went for Kitty...missed, and went completely off the roof! She flung the blanket aside as she fell, landing in an impact-absorbing roll, ending up a bit disheveled but unhurt about 15' from the bus, while Kitty zipped past me and ended up on the rear A/C housing again. At this point, we gave up before I fell off the roof.

About ten minutes later, Kitty began rubbing against Liz's ankles as she returned from jogging. (CATS!) She picked him up with no drama & checked his harness tag: it had the owner's phone number. She called, and a woman answered. When told we had her cat, she was thrilled. Apparantly, he disappeared about a month ago while having furniture delivered. The woman lived twenty miles away & came to retrieve Connie. Not sure where he was or how he got to my house, but life on the lam seemed to agree with him...she noted that he seemed, if anything, to have GAINED a bit of weight!

After dealing with Connie, my cats spent all yesterday afternoon ignoring Liz.

[Gob]

At least you didn't resort to your normal answer to any problem, and shoot the poor fucker!

[Jarlaxle]

I like animals...I just wanted this one off my bus, especially since he, clearly, was not a stray!

[loCAtek]

Great story-telling

[Miles]

At least you didn't resort to your normal answer to any problem, and shoot the poor fucker!

With the comedy of errors trying to catch it they may have severely damaged the bus roof if firearms were employed.

[Jarlaxle]

We made a friend. Guess who showed up on the porch this morning!

Cats...