A feline intruder has been appearing on the roof of the cottage over the past couple of months. The first time I saw the cat, it was looking down at Samantha who was in the “catio,” a small fenced-in patio on the side of the cottage. I whisked her inside and shooed the trespasser away with a few squirts from a water bottle. Samantha paced from room to room, expressing fear with a guttural growl. I learned from posts on Nextdoor that the cat was visiting other neighbors who were concerned the cat was lost. One neighbor had a visit from the cat who lingered in her courtyard into the early morning hours, yowling at her indoor cats. She was able to get the phone number off its collar tag and texted the number. The person who responded stated that “Sergio” was an indoor/outdoor cat. This cat’s owner seemed to be okay with him being outdoors. Excuse me, this neighborhood is within blocks of Laguna Canyon where coyotes reside and come down from the hills in search of their next meal. It really was not okay that this cat was roaming the neighborhood from dawn to beyond dusk. And it was not okay that he was rattling the nerves of my sensitive Samantha Jo.

John figured out that Sergio was getting onto the roof from the side of the cottage facing an above-grade walkway from which he could spring onto the roof. He installed bamboo fencing around the edge of that part of the roof. For a couple weeks we had no Sergio sightings. The relief we felt was palpable.

Then last Tuesday, I heard familiar cat cries coming from the roof. Sergio was back. I was baffled at how he found another point of access to the roof from which he pawed his way to the top of the lattice fence enclosing the catio. Samantha jumped onto my desk facing the windows of the catio and watched as Sergio leapt into the catio and sauntered over the pavers. She hissed and wailed, triggering a blood-curdling caterwaul from Serigo. I rushed out to the catio and squirted him with a water bottle. He scaled the fence landing in the front walkway. I ran into the front yard and opened the entry gate. He bolted through the open gate and ran up the street. Inside, Samantha was nervously darting from window to window. I sprayed a flower-essence based calming tincture throughout the cottage (Drama-Trauma by BlackWing Farms) and played ambient music. Soon enough, she became relaxed.

I wondered how this darn cat was once again able to get onto the roof. Then I recalled that Sergio’s collar no longer had a tag, and I wondered if he still had a home to return to.

I have stories of rescues that I will share as mentioned in my previous blog entry. This story needed to be told first. It’s been a journey. Stay tuned for the next chapter of That Darn Cat.