Smooth Criminal

We have renters in our complex.  The people change yearly (except for the one legged lady but that's a different story), so their names just remain "the renters."  So the renters apparently decided to leave for a long 4th of July weekend.  Without their cat.  Without enough food.  

The renters have an adorable young cat (he is bigger than a kitten to me) that is kind of brown tiger striped with all white paws. Too cute.  We have seen him before and visited with him because they inexplicably let him hang out on the patio and he somehow never ventures away. We have stopped to pet him and say hi and tell the renters how cute he is.

Yesterday I mentioned to B that I felt bad for the kitty. He was all by his lonesome. We went up to the patio door and you could tell he was crying but we couldn't hear him.  That is when I noticed his two food dishes were empty!  I hoped they would come home early today.  No such luck.

So around 5 pm or so B informs me that he is going to go kidnap the cat. I thought he was joking, but he was not. A few weeks ago he noticed one of their screens had been pushed out and told them about it.  They did not fix it.  B expressed disbelief that the same people who could not be bothered to fix their screen would also lock their windows.  He was right - unlocked.  Of course, I had to follow behind him saying the whole time that this was NOT a good idea.  But, the cat came to the window, B scooped him up and brought him into our condo.

The little guy was purring like crazy in B's arms.  He did not like seeing our cats and was a little skittish, but he need not have worried as they fled for the hills, or in this case, under the beds. Despite the fact that our cats are about 5 times the size of this baby, they were petrified. It might have been the kitty pot B gave them right before his caper.

So, despite the fact that I yell at our cats every time they THINK about stepping foot on to our kitchen counters, here was this little baby on our counter and I am feeding it.  He ate a lot.  So much, in fact, that we stopped feeding him so he wouldn't get sick.  All the time I am saying "what if the renters come home?"  And just like that, we were putting him right back where we found him and replacing the screen.  Deed done. No one noticed.

Just in the nick of time. Right after that, B went to pick up some pizza and I hear the renters pull up.  Whew! I think to myself.  Next thing I know, B is back and walking by saying to the renters "we fed your cat."

Real smooth, that one.