This work is supported by the generous backers who adore my cat stories at Patreon.com/amberunmasked and they also get first access to what’s happening with my books and podcast.
Where We Left Off:
The Cook and The Grumpy Old Man found an ancient artifact buried in the fireplace.
Black and White:
Unfortunately this Winchester-Nabu case file is not about delicious frosted cookies. It’s about borders and invaders. This is an issue that Gus has deep-rooted passion about since his territory has been limited in the past couple of years. Gus and Ollie used to have access to far more land. Now, the Butler takes Oliver on chauffeured patrols out of the estate. Gus, however, is restricted to the estate. He’s allowed to travel to hiking spots, but he hates that and he gets car sick after a mile.
There are a few intruders that Gus and Oliver do not welcome. We’ve caught two of them on the trailcams. One can be seen in last week’s case file about the alleged mouse murderer, Ringo. He appears well-muscled, a solid color coat with the exception of faint tail rings, and moves like an experienced assassin.
There’s also the cat with white areas and tabby patches who we’ve always referred to as The Stranger. By now, this feline does deserve a better alias, but we’ll address that later. She’s been around for years. The Stranger is mostly tabby striped with white mittens and a blaze of white on its nose; it is currently wearing a pink and red collar in our most recent photos.
But the intruder who has our attention in this case file is the one that’s equally white and black. It’s called Lokai and wears a collar showing it belongs to a family. It’s most often spotted at the back border (Bunny Hollow, the red maple, and The Boulevard Trail). It seems like most of the houses on this street—except for three in this section of the road—have new residents. There are still more For Sale signs up.
Lokai could be brand new to the neighborhood. That’s the most likely scenario. He’s allowed to roam freely even with a collar and that aggravates Gus to no end. He wants that freedom! Instead, he has to be chaperoned by a human and usually tethered by a leash as if he’s subservient. He most certainly is not a subordinate and the leash is for his own safety (and also so I don’t have to go trespassing to retrieve him).
Without being allowed to hike on the trails, Gus and I have no way of investigating where this black and white cat goes when it leaves here. Are there more? Does Lokai know about the ducks and chickens? If so, how does he react to them? We’d love to have these answers.
It was time for the detective agency to convene a meeting.
“Guys,” I said, “I’m sorry to say, there’s no way to keep wandering felines out of the yard. Look at you, Gus, you escape and go to other people’s yards whenever I’m not watching you.”
“But I was here first.” Gus turned his head to voice his continued disappointment.
I felt so bad for Gus. He desperately wants to explore more than we can manage with him being leashed. I can’t explain it to him that this road is far too dangerous. Not to mention, he is much more fearful of things than he lets on.
“Time to see if our network of informants has any information,” Ollie said. “Maybe the Lokai could become an asset.”
“No way,” Gus said, “Nope. Not gonna happen. We are not allowing a random domestic feline into our fold.”
I muttered, “Tell us how you really feel, Gus.” I almost suggested that we put it to a vote, but I had my own mixed feelings about trying to make friends with a neighbor’s cat when I know how Gus feels about them. He’s my right hand.
What we really needed to do what make a Threat Assessment.
- How close has this black and white domestic feline come to the residence? Unknown
- How close has this black and white domestic feline come to the hangar/junkyard and the mobile command unit? Close proximity
- Has anyone witnessed this feline showing aggression? No
- Have any of the camera captured the feline showing aggressive behavior? No
- What was the response when the feline was confronted by Burton Guster Nabu? Flight response; the cat turned and ran into the woods away from the border and Gus
- What was Oliver’s response to the October 1st intrusion? Oliver and The Grumpy Old Man were on the observation deck. Tempers remained calm but alert.
- What was Gus’ reaction to chasing the cat from the property? Gus immediately returned to his human when called. He was especially clingy with his human. He used the rest of his patrol time to leave scent markings in specific places and spend time all over the property including inside the hangar and resting on top of “his” truck.
Case Findings:
At this time, Lokai the black and white cat appears to pose no threat to Gus nor Oliver. What becomes an issue is when Gus and Oliver are inside and both of them see an intruder outside. That revs up their nervous systems and they go after each other. Since Gus is opposed to getting familiar with Lokai at this time, the subject will not be considered for asset recruiting.
Case Status: Closed