Nice kitty ...

I realize many of you probably saw this over the weekend, but I'm just now getting around to commenting on it. Even with the delay, I'm sure those of you who know my demon cat, Gumbo, will understand that I just HAD to blog about Jack -- the super cat who chased a bear up a tree in New Jersey. [I've read several versions of the story, but the link above seems to be the most complete.]

If you don't know the story, Jack (pictured at the bottom of the tree) evidentlly chased this black bear up a tree at the edge of his yard. Okay, you're saying, maybe the bear was just up the tree and Jack came along and is looking up with curiosity. That's what I thought, but nope:

"I thought, 'Aww, look at the little kitty looking at the bear,'" Giovanetti said. But as Giovanetti watched on, she saw the bear cast frequent, worried glances down at the cat, a 10-year-old orange-and- white tabby named Jack. The bear seemed scared.

The bear "hung out uncomfortably in the tree" for 10 to 15 minutes, eyeing the cat who was eyeing him, Giovanetti said. It then inched halfway down the tree, paused, quickly jumped off and ran "like a bolt," with Jack on his tail.

"I think the cat was hissing at the bear as it came down the tree," Giovanetti said.
...
"I panicked when I heard Suzanne yelling about Jack," Dickey said. "I thought, 'Oh, my God, the bear's gonna get him!'"

Not quite. Jack chased the bear into the brush and up another tree about 15 feet away. He then stood watch for a few minutes before Dickey, who had run to Giovanetti's porch, called him to her. The cat sauntered back toward the group, "rubbing up against everyone," Dickey said.

Now that's a cat, but I have no doubt Gumbo could have done the same thing. I have to give Jack his props though -- he's declawed!

Speaking of Gumbo, ... She has a new neurosis that is puzzling me. I've had Gumbo (or she's had me) for approximately 10 years now and in that time I've probably heard my alarm clock fewer than 10 times. Gumbo is a morning cat. She usually gets me up somewhere between 5:30 and 6:30, maybe 7:00 if I fight her. [No need for "smart" comments on how I could thwart her. If you're offering those comments, you don't really know Gumbo.]

Anyway, for unimportant reasons I've recently started leaving a bathroom door open that's been closed pretty much since I moved into my house. Gumbo has decided she LOVES that bathroom. More specifically, she's taken with the bottom shelf of a set of built in shelves in that bathroom. Seriously, I've only seen her about twice a day since I opened the bathroom. Every once in a while I'll go check on her and she's lying there in her shelf just as happy as can be. She comes out on occasion for food and litter box trips. I'm starting to worry about her, but on the other hand, she doesn't even leave her shelf to terrorize me in the morning. I've been awakened by my alarm clock for the past 3 days straight! Now I know most of you do not get excited by hearing your alarm clock, but I've been able to sleep until the alarm goes off for 3 days. That's a record!