Feline Ferocity

I don’t remember exactly where this picture came from, but it fairly well serves the purpose to prove out what cat owners have always known; a well trained and experienced cat, can and will whip even the most aggressive pit bull. Flying side kicks aside, I once shared company with a cat that had the reputation of ripping the throats from several dogs who had merely trespassed the property. I found it difficult to believe of such a fluffy, soft, loving creature as Jodie, until I witnessed one such incident myself. It was the most brutal attack I’ve ever seen inflicted on a living creature.

An innocent neighborhood dog one day wandered into my back lot in that nonchalant saunter the way that dogs trot from yard to yard through neighborhoods. Jodie, a black and white shorthair sitting at my feet, suddenly bolted straight for the dog, meeting it head on. The dog, a big yellow lab mix, just stupidly kept trotting along looking at the approaching cat with a puzzled look. Just before Jodie arrived in his face he stopped and brought his head up sharply. That’s when Jodie lunged beneath his head and latched on to the underside of this throat, digging in with all four claws and a mouthful of teeth.

Fur and blood flew violently for a few seconds, then the dog began to scream and run. Yes it screamed. I’d never heard a dog scream, but I’m telling you that dog screamed. A few seconds later and it was all over. Jodie had dismounted her undercarriage position of that dog’s throat and the dog was plunging wildly toward a side exit from the lot. Blood was surging from beneath his head. I doubt the dog made it very far away before collapsing. In a matter of three to five seconds, Jodie had literally clawed her way deep into the dog’s throat inflicting horrible wounds. Suffice to say, that if a ten pound domestic short hair can inflict that kind of mortal wounds in the short of a few seconds, then imagine what a forty to fifty pound bobcat when cornered would do. Which brings me to the real meat and potatoes of today’s post.

I found the picture above while doing some attic cleaning of my hard drive this morning, and the picture reminded me for some reason of a story I heard a few years back, well, many, many years back actually, of two New York gentlemen who were coming down through the Appalachian Mountains on their way to Florida. This was before the days of super highways being built through the North Carolina mountains, and it was a winding two lane blacktop trip.

Somewhere along the Southern part of the North Carolina trek, late at night, with some miles yet to go before crossing into South Carolina, the two gentlemen encountered a bobcat on the road. The car lights startled the cat evidently and despite braking hard, the cat managed to get bumped by the car. The two New York gentlemen not knowing exactly what the creature was, other than some type of exotic cat, stopped to have a look. The bobcat, knocked unconscious, but appearing dead, looked like something the guys would want to show off when they arrived in Florida the next day, so they loaded it into the back seat floor, and proceeded along on their trip.

Having already told you that the cat was knocked unconscious but appeared dead, you are already chuckling, or wincing, at what you already figure eventually happed. And you are right. Only, it didn’t happen until the gentlemen arrived in downtown Greenville, South Carolina, right on Main Street, approaching the Poinsettia Hotel. In those days, the Poinsettia was considered to be like one of today’s Hiltons, only better. Can you imagine the poor doorman and concierge encountering the car as it came to a stop in front of the hotel, windows up, with the righteously indignant, and now awakened, bobcat expressing his natural born fury on the two occupants?

Depending on where you were while it was going on, what ensued could be called catastrophe or hilarity. The fact that no one was killed, and the cost of medical care for the two gentlemen and of replacing the entire interior of the car, was only a few thousand dollars, I suppose, classes the event as a cheap lesson on wildlife management. Yes. Leave wild animals where you find them. In fact, just leave them alone altogether if you’re smart. And further, never underestimate the authority of a cat.

Speaking to not being smart, I heard that one of the New York gentlemen a few years later committed the same act of stupidity with a whitetail deer, and lost an eye for his effort. I can’t fathom that anyone would be that stupid. But, hey, they were from New York, and they were under the influence of the Carolina moon. I’ve known stranger things to happen under that moon. I’ll tell you about them sometime. Right now, I have Saturday errands to run. Until later,
Dread