Cat Tails: The Peep and the Pooch

Peep woke from her nap late in the afternoon to the sound of voices outside. It sounded like the Daddy and his friend that rode a motorcycle. She liked him because he had a nice voice and he liked to scratch her head. Then she heard a sound she hated – the sound of a dog barking. No self-respecting cat likes dogs, and Peep hated dogs. This one sounded like a little yapper - one of the terrier breeds. “Well. At least it’s not a Doberman,” Peep thought.

The voices came closer, and so, unfortunately did the barking. Peep jumped up and called for LT and Rudy. Neither answered her and she ran to the cat door and called outside to them. They had to hear the racket the dog was making! No one answered her and as the back door opened, Peep ran outside. She sprinted to the edge of the woods calling for LT and Rudy, but neither answered. Where could they be? This was not the time for the house to be left in Peep’s charge - there was a dog out there! No, correct that, there was a dog in the house. In all the time Peep had lived with the Mommy and the Daddy there had never been a dog in the house. What in the world should she do?

Peep ran back onto the deck and stuck her head through the cat door. No dog in the living room, thanks be to the Higher Cat. She slunk through the door and ran under the couch to eavesdrop on the conversation.

“Thanks for coming over and bringing me lasagna, Ken,” the Daddy said. “Mary Rose has spoiled me for my own cooking, I think.”

“You don’t mind that I brought the dog in, do you?” Ken asked.” The kids and their friends were making so much noise that she was a nervous wreck.”

“Not a problem with me, but I’m not sure about the cats. I saw LT and Rudy heading to the neighbors, so it’s probably just Peep here right now.” Jay didn’t want to speak for the cats, who he was sure would not like a Yorkshire terrier in the house.

Peep definitely did not want the dog in the house, but what could she do? She could hear him sniffing around the kitchen chairs, yapping occasionally. “He’s probably getting dog slobber all over our chair legs,” Peep thought. Since she was the only one home it was her responsibility to protect the house, right?

Being a small cat, Peep was afraid of dogs. Their bodies were bigger, their mouths were bigger, their teeth were sharper. Her claws were sharper, but if she was close enough to claw, then she was close enough to get bitten. There was no easy answer for this problem.

Peep peered out from under the couch to get a good look at the dog. “Good grief,” Peep thought. “I’m bigger than he is! I don’t need LT and Rudy to help me; I can mop up the floor with this little rag-mop myself.” With that she ran out from under the couch, hissing and yowling. The fur all over her body and tail stuck straight out as though she was a porcupine, as she ran towards him.

The dog ran between Ken’s legs and under a chair. Peep followed, knocking Ken off balance. He teetered and fell sideways on top of the chair which then crashed to the floor. The leash was wound around one of Ken’s legs and the leg of the fallen chair, pinning the Yorkie in place. Peep sprung over Ken and was about to rake her claws across the dog’s nose when she was grabbed by the Daddy.

“Ouch! You’re hurting me,” Peep yelled. She squirmed and accidentally scratched his arm. Holding her even tighter he ran to the bedroom, tossed her in and slammed the door shut on her. Peep raged and spit, saying, "Let me out of here! You squeezed me and hurt me and you won’t let me protect our house. Meany! Tyrant! Cat abuser!”

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Jay helped Ken untangle the leash and helped him up. “Well, I guess we know how Peep feels about the dog being in the house.”

While Ken checked himself for injuries, Jay looked the poor Yorkie over. He whined and licked Jay’s hand, saying “Think you for rescuing me from that demon cat. I was never so scared in my life!”

“You should be scared, rag-mop!” Peep yelled from the bedroom. “When I get out of here you’ll be dog meat!”

Ken picked up the shivering dog and he and Jay walked outside.” Maybe bringing him here wasn’t a good idea,” Ken said ruefully. They went onto the deck and sat to continue their conversation. The Yorkie sniffed happily around, going to both men to be petted. He liked it much better out here.

Rudy and LT returned from their visit to Ginger’s house and noticed the three on the deck. “Rudy, is that a terrier?” LT asked. “It sure looks like one. I got hurt really badly by one when was younger.”

“Sure looks like one to me, but it’s small. How could something that small do so much damage?” Rudy looked doubtfully at LT.

“Oh, they’re deceptive. They bite your neck or leg with their sharp little teeth and they just don’t let go! I’m staying here.” LT settled down to wait out the Yorkie, who hadn’t even noticed them.

Once Ken and the Yorkie left, LT and Rudy went inside, to find the Daddy deep in conversation with the Peep. “Peep, even if you don’t like the dog, you can’t scratch me when I try to separate the two of you. I’m sorry if I held you too tight, but I was afraid you or the dog would get hurt.”

“Daddy, the only one who would have been hurt was that rag-mop! I had to protect you and the house.” Peep was quiet but insistent. She licked the Daddy’s hand to show she wasn’t holding a grudge.

When he’d left the room, LT looked at Peep. “Did you go after that dog? Terriers are dangerous!”

“Yeah, well he wasn’t too tough. I taught him a lesson before the Daddy grabbed me. That dog won’t want to come back here anytime soon.” Peep was so full of herself she actually swaggered.

Rudy shook her head in admiration. “Peep, you’re a lot braver than I thought. LT told me how dangerous that type of dog can be.

Peep gulped, but not so LT or Rudy would notice. “Dangerous or not, I know my job is to protect the Daddy and that’s what l did.” Peep sauntered into the living room, jumped on the green chair and pretended to go to sleep. “I guess I was lucky the Daddy grabbed me.” She thought about what a good tale this would be for this week’s Cat Club meeting and wondered if she should elaborate a bit on what she’d said earlier. She’d decide later.