Crazy neighbors and faral cats

Boy do I have a good post for y'all!! FINALLY something interesting and exciting has happened!!

Okay, I have two cats, mother and daughter. Since I have no kids yet, the cats are the closest thing. For those of you that have pets that you LOVE like your own, you know what I am talking about. My cats ARE my children. They are the first things I take care of in the morning, the first things I look for when I get home from work (as long as Sean isn't home, if he is, he's first), and the last things I check on at night. They love me and I love them. They talk to me and I can normally read what they want when they want it. Lily, the daughter cat, is trained to pull her container of catnip down off of the shelf when she wants some. They drink water from a cup on the sink, which I keep filled continuously.

You get the idea right?

Friday...my day off...I am sitting in the recliner playing on the computer watching Seinfeld having a nice glass of Merlot. The doorbell rings....odd since we don't know anyone in the neighborhood and I see no cars in our drive. I get up and notice an older woman holding a dog looking CRAZY. Before I even open the door I think "This could be weird".

Me: Hello

Her: (looking over my head instead of making eye contact...and her eyes look glazed and crazy) Uh, hi. Do you have a big black cat?

Me: Yes, I have two black cats.

Her: (yelling and looking at me now) YOUR CATS ARE KILLING MY BIRDS!!!

Me: (at a loss) Oh, I'm sorry.

Her: KEEP YOUR CATS INSIDE!!!!

Me: I'm sorry I can't do that. They are outdoor cats and they have collars.

Her: Well, you know we have badgers around here?!

Me: Yes, I know, and coyotes. They did fine with wild animals down state. We had raccoons, coyotes, and hawks and they were fine outside.

Her: WELL...MAYBE THEY'LL LIVE AND MAYBE THEY WON'T!!

Me: Oh, and where do you live?

Her: TWO HOUSES DOWN!

Me: OH!!! You're the President of the neighborhood association?!?!?!

Her: (starting to walk away now) One of them yes.

Me: Well, it was really nice to meet you.

I WAS FUUUUUUUURIOUS! I was so mad in fact that I was shaking and had to use the bathroom immediately...that happens to me when I get really upset.

So, I'm wrapping up in the John and the doorbell rings AGAIN! By this point, the cats had come to the back door looking FREAKED out and ran inside. God knows what she did...they were scared.

So, she comes back, without the dog now, and tells me all about how sorry she is. Her sister in law is dying and they heard bad news today. The bird, "her bird" that she found dead was hanging on a branch. She now admits that my cats had nothing to do with it dying, it fell from the nest and broke it's neck. I have every right to let my cats out, she loves cats, yadda yadda. I accepted her apology, apologized to HER because my cats were in her yard and I hate that they were but there's not a whole hell of alot I can do. They are not dogs with leashes or electric fences.

The point is, DO NOT threaten my cats. It's the same, at this point, as telling me "maybe you 5 year old daughter will live and maybe she won't." They ARE my kids. DO NOT come over to MY house and threaten them and then later come back and admit they had nothing to do with it.

Listen, I know cats can be a pain. I know they kill birds. That's how life and nature works. Cats kill birds, snakes kill mice, hawks kill whatever they can, DOGS kill rabbits, coyotes kill EVERYTHING. It's part of life. I hate it too but it's how animal instinct and hunting works.

She's a lunatic. AND President of the Association. Had she not come over and apologized, I would have written a letter and passed it out door to door. I still think about what needs to be done during the next election. A woman that unstable should not be running the show. To top things off, our neighbors next door told me a month ago she was wacko.

We also have a wild feral cat that thinks it's fun to beat up my cats, which I hate but THAT'S NATURE. This A-Hole cat comes around and beats the shit out of my cats. Yesterday Kelly, the mom cat, came barreling in. The feral cat was chasing her and ALMOST came into the house when I opened the door for Kelly. I heard them fighting and she came in hurt. Last night, she was still hurt. I could tell she was in pain (her eyes were dilated) but she was fine this morning. Oh, and to add fun to it, she has lost two break away collars in two weeks. Seems whenever this feral cat beats her up she loses her collar. They are not cheap. I spend about $10 on collars each time, including the name tag. Lily, the daughter cat, lost one and Kelly has lost two now. At least they break away I guess, otherwise they would be strangled somewhere.

So, that's the exciting news! Woo-Hoo!!