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Where We Left Off:
Previously, we found evidence of an attack against Junco Joe Adonis.
Copycat II:
Back in Case File No. 35-295, I introduced the folklore of doppelgängers and lookalikes. We determined Gus didn’t have an actual doppelgänger; but there is a stray who looks an awful lot like him lurking right here! The second week of February 2023, I finally got a couple of photos of this lookalike.
Since our Burton “Gus” Guster Nabu is named after the beloved private detective/best friend at the fake psychic detective agency on Psych, (Burton “Gus” Guster played by Dulé Hill), it seemed fitting to call this lookalike Bud. There’s an ongoing joke on Psych where people thought Gus was the actor who played Bud on The Cosby Show. Deon Richmond, who played Bud, and other actors from the maligned show were guest stars on Psych. Therefore, his name shall be Bud.
On a Friday evening, I couldn’t figure out why Gus was adamant about wanting to go out the back door. There was a little bit of light on the back porch. I was able to peek through the small space where the curtain ends on the door’s window. There was Bud! Right on our back porch! He looked like he owned the place.
No wonder Gus wanted to draw my attention to the door!
The trespassing feline noticed me when I moved the curtain and he got scared. He darted about halfway up the stone path. Gus and I went up to the balcony to look over the railing and see if Bud had continued on his merry way. He did not! He turned right around and went to the back porch again.
Maybe because it’s winter or because he’s extremely well-fed, but Bud looks a lot huskier than Gus. Could it be that Bud has a real home where he’s cared for and fed? Why, then, is he hanging out on our porch? I assume Bud has been the one spraying the bushes at the end of the stone path. Gus spends a lot of time smelling them as soon as we begin our walks and I can see the spotted sheen on the leaves.
The human staff discussed the situation. Sometimes, when Gus and Oliver see a strange feline in their yard, they take their aggressions out on each other. We learned from My Cat from Hell that this behavior is not uncommon. The solution cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy presented was to place motion-detection air canisters where the unwelcome animal is likely to surface. For example, if you have sliding glass doors on ground level, that’s a good place for an outside canister.
I admit, I don’t want to blast a cat in the face with air. It’s better than many alternatives like water. I also don’t want anyone here to invest in $50 cans of air with motion detectors when Gus and Ollie rarely get into such brawling fights. It’s a lot of money and we already have to pay annual vet visit bills and prescription food service for Gus (Ollie has gotten the advice to not eat Gus’ Rx food).
Gus wanted to follow Bud’s scent through the yard and into the trails, but we aren’t supposed to go on the trails anymore! It’s frustrating! We love exploring in the woods when we aren’t on a mission. Now, we have a specific reason for wanting to go and we can’t. We want to know where Bud lives when he’s not here upsetting Gus and Oliver.
Case Findings:
We finally succeeded in getting better images of Bud, the cat who looks like Gus. Our findings are slim. We know that he (is likely an unneutered male) is comfortable being on our back porch and on Oliver’s patio. He shows no hesitation being near doors of the house. He is easily chased off by shifts of the curtain, lights, cars, and Gus chasing him.
Unanswered questions remain:
- Does Bud have a home and family?
- Why does he come here knowing Gus might be outside on patrol? Does he need our help?
Case Status: Open