I took our dog for a walk and heard a terrible ruckus: cats yelling at the top of a tree. Not my tree, not my cats, but the Big Orange Tom is known to us. He is the king of the neighborhood and father to probably half the local cat population. We don’t know if anyone has given him a name other than Big Orange Tom, or if he has people he cuddles (he won’t let us near him). There is plenty of food to be had all along the street, so it is hard to tell if he has a permanent home.

He cornered a neighbor tortie and she was letting him know that she was not interested. He sauntered halfway down the tree and laid on a branch in a total jerk move of cat chess. We checked on them again on the return leg of the walk and they had both scampered, so no rescues needed.